Marathon gas station gunman killed woman to protect others, Brown County district attorney says
GREEN BAY - Brown County prosecutors don't plan to charge the person who shot and killed a woman in a disturbance at a downtown gas station in the fall, saying the Green Bay man "was scared for his life and everyone else's life."
Calling the fatal shooting of Dominique Wilson on Nov. 14 "a tragic event," Brown County District Attorney David Lasee said his staff consulted with Green Bay police investigators and determined not to charge the 26-year-old gunman with a crime for firing the shot that killed her.
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The Press-Gazette is not naming the shooter because he has not been charged with any crimes in connection with the shooting. The DA's report said he was not actively engaged in the disturbance, nor was he trying to incite others to commit violence.
In a press statement issued late Friday afternoon, Lasee said Wilson had repeatedly pointed a friend's legally owned handgun at people who were involved in a dispute at the gas station and appeared to point the loaded weapon at several individuals involved in the altercation before she was shot.
The shooting scene is a 24-hour gas station and convenience store at 610 E. Walnut St., just east of downtown.
The man went to the Green Bay police station on Nov. 16, voluntarily gave a statement about what had happened and surrendered the gun he used in the shooting, Lasee said. His statements were consistent with what other witnesses had told police, according to the prosecutor's office, and were borne out by video recorded at the scene by the gas station's security cameras and by witnesses' cellphones.
Lasee's statement said the confrontation stemmed from an ongoing dispute between two groups that began on social media about Nov. 12. The groups met at the Marathon station, with some armed with bats, brass knuckles and pepper spray.
Authorities said Wilson, who'd been living in Bettendorf, Iowa, was an active participant in the dispute. At one point before 2 a.m. Nov. 14, her boyfriend, who is not identified in the DA's report, unsuccessfully tried to restrain her. Eventually she went to a car and retrieved a loaded handgun legally possessed by a friend.
"Wilson is observed, by other witnesses and persons in the video, racking the handgun, pointing it at other individuals in close proximity, and it appears she was trying to discharge the loaded weapon at others who were actively fighting," Lasee wrote.
Lasee on Thursday had indicated that his office was planning to charge some people who were at the gas station with lesser offenses, but did not provide information on those charges with the statement about not charging the shooter.
Contact Doug Schneider at (920) 431-8333, or DSchneid@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @PGDougSchneider
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Brown County DA won't charge man in fatal shooting at Marathon station
