Canton Township man arrested in fatal shooting of neighbor, police say
Victim sent daughter home and remained behind when the shooting occurred on Cornell Street. The man barricaded himself inside home after, police said.
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Canton Township man arrested in fatal shooting of neighbor, police say
Marnie Muñoz Allison Wei Kara BergThe Detroit News
A Canton Township father was killed Saturday after he allegedly was shot by a neighbor on Cornell Street who was angry the man's daughter had touched his mulch, according to police and the Michigan GOP.
The father, 35, was killed in the 200 block of Cornell Street, police said. The victim was not identified by police, but the Michigan GOP released a statement identifying the man as Nathan Morris.
"We are devastated to share the tragic news about Nathan Morris, who was senselessly take from us while protecting his family in Canton," the statement said.
He was secretary of the 6th Congressional District Republican Committee, according to a post on X by the state GOP. The statement said Morris was walking with his family in his neighborhood when "his daughter touched the mulch ... of one of the neighbors."
The neighbor became angry, the post said. Morris sent his daughter home and subsequently was shot.
When police responded to a call at 11:48 a.m., they found Morris bleeding in the street and transferred him to a local hospital, where he died, according to Canton Township police.
The neighbor barricaded himself in his home following the shooting, police said. He eventually surrendered. The suspect remains jailed, police said.
"Nate was a great Dad and good man," the Michigan GOP post said. "To think his life was taken because his daughter was playing with mulch in someone's yard is unfathomable. Even in his final act as a dad he was protecting his children by sending them home while he tried to defuse the situation."
Neighbors said the alleged shooter, whom The Detroit News is not naming because he has not been charged, was known for getting into arguments with people. One neighbor who said he didn't want to speak to a reporter because he might be involved with the criminal case, said several bullets went through his window in the home he shares with his partner and three children.
Nicole Brooks, who lives in the neighborhood, said the alleged shooter always was nice to her, but she believed he had mental health issues. Brooks was walking her dog Sunday night in the quiet neighborhood.
Morris was active in the community and recently ran for the Plymouth-Canton Community Schools Board of Education, according to the post on X from the Michigan GOP.
"He was an engineer at Ford Motors and got involved in politics when Ford mandated COVID-19 vaccines," said Hima Kolanagireddy, RNC National committeewoman.
Canton Township's police chief called the death "a senseless act of violence."
“The Canton Police Department sends our deepest condolences to the victim’s family, and to the neighbors who may have witnessed this tragic event,” said Canton Police Chief Chad Baugh.
Morris leaves behind his wife, Becky, and two young children, Molly and Zoey. A fundraiser has been started to support the family.
"Mr. Nathan Morris was a family man first and foremost," according to the fundraiser. "He will be missed by the hundreds of people who knew him, loved him, and enjoyed his can-do spirit and strong focus on the work and responsibilities, which he took on at the cost of precious family time, especially reading to his children at bedtime."
