Prior to the shooting that occurred on his property in Tenino early on Monday, Sept. 19, local conservative activist Glen Morgan experienced multiple burglaries on his property, according to a news release from the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office.
“Thurston County detectives responded to the scene and learned that the property had been repeatedly burglarized for the last week,” the sheriff’s office stated in the release.
The repeated burglaries are what prompted Morgan and his brother to respond to a noise they heard at around 4:30 a.m. on Monday on their adjoined properties.
According to the release, the brothers observed two ATVs parked near storage trailers on their property and confronted two men they observed walking away from the trailers. Upon confronting the men, one subject fled into the bushes while the other allegedly charged at Morgan and his brother, stated the release.
“When they were caught in the act of breaking into a storage unit on the private property and then confronted, one of them charged at and assaulted Mr. Morgan,” said Morgan’s attorney, Angus Lee, in a statement issued to The Olympian.
The man who charged appeared to be holding a bat, according to what Lee told The Olympian, prompting Morgan to open fire with a rifle he had brought with him, striking the suspect in the upper arm area. The shot was non-life threatening but the 50-year-old man from Rochester was transported to St. Peter’s Hospital for treatment.
The suspect who fled into the bushes, a 60-year-old man from Centralia, was later apprehended. Neither of the suspects’ names have been released yet as the Thurston County Prosecuting Attorney’s office is still reviewing the case to decide charges, stated the release.
