No charges filed against homeowner accused of shooting Bo Morrison

SLINGER -- Washington County District Attorney Mark Bensen announced Wednesday that no charges will be filed in the shooting of 20-year-old Bo Morrison in Slinger on March 3rd.

Morrison was shot by a homeowner on the homeowner's porch, as he was allegedly hiding from police after attending an underage drinking party in the neighborhood.

The District Attorney's Office says their investigation determined that the homeowner who shot Morrison acted lawfully in self-defense.

The investigation report in this case says law enforcement was called to a noise complaint involving an underage drinking party that Morrison was attending. The report says Morrison's BAC was .19 - over twice the legal limit for driving, and Morrison left the party, and entered the homeowner's enclosed porch.

The report says during his encounter with the homeowner, Morrison was killed with a single shot.

The report says the homeowner "acted reasonably in his use of force, based on the facts and circumstances of which he was aware when he encountered an unknown intruder in his residence at 2:00 a.m. March 3rd." The report says the requirements of the recently passed Castle Doctrine were met in this case based on factors including: time of day of the shooting, location of the shooting, small size of the room where the shooting took place, lighting conditions of the room (dark), dark clothing Morrison was wearing, the fact that the homeowner's wife and three young children were in the home at the time, etc.

The homeowner said he heard sounds near the back of his home, and grabbed his handgun, that was secured in a plastic case with snaps on the top shelf of his closet. The report says after the homeowner spoke with Morrison, Morrison raised his hand, and took a step toward the homeowner.

After firing the shot, the homeowner asked his wife to call 911 and within minutes, officers were on the scene. Additionally, the homeowner cooperated in all aspects of the investigation, including submitting to a blood test and providing voluntary statements to law enforcement.

Law enforcement officers reported the homeowner appeared "in a state of disbelief or shock" when they arrived on the scene after the shooting.

The report describes the homeowner as a married man with children, with no criminal record.

The report describes Morrison as a 2010 graduate from West Bend East High School who played football, baseball and wrestled, and was also a snowboarder. Morrison attended MATC in Milwaukee and graduated with a certificate in carpentry. The report calls Morrison's death "a tragedy," and say "many poor decisions were made that night, which contributed to the sequence of events that led to his death."