A beloved Michigan father of two was shot and killed by a neighbor from hell after he went out for an afternoon walk over the weekend.
Nathan Morris, 35, was walking through his normally quiet Canton neighborhood shortly before noon Saturday with his family when police say Deveraux Christopher Johnson, 47, confronted him and the two began arguing.
Johnson was reportedly upset that Morris’ daughter “touched the mulch” on his property. The Michigan Republican Party wrote in announcing Morris’ death on Sunday.
“The neighbor pulled out a gun and began threatening the family,” the post reads.
‘Nathan sent his family home and said he would try to calm the situation, but instead he was shot and killed.’
Nathan Morris, a 35-year-old father of two, was shot and killed by a neighbor in broad daylight on Saturday.
Police say Johnson shot Morris multiple times and when officers arrived at the scene on Cornell Street at 11:48 a.m., they found the victim suffering from a gunshot wound in the middle of the street. Fox 2 Detroit report.
First responders took Morris to a local hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.
Meanwhile, the suspect barricaded himself inside his home when police arrived.
After several orders to surrender, Johnson eventually emerged from the home with his hands up and repeating, “Praise God Almighty,” and was taken into custody without incident, according to Fox 2 Detroit.
Police Chief Chad Baugh is now calling the shooting a “senseless act of violence,” as neighbors recount how Johnson opened fire in broad daylight.
“It was crazy. It happened so fast, all I remember is when I heard the loud gunshots, I didn’t know what it was,” said neighbor Vish Vadari. told WXYZ.
“I realized it wasn’t Diwali or the Fourth of July, so I couldn’t relate it to what it was, but I knew it was very, very loud.”
The shooter, Deveraux Christopher Johnson, 47, barricaded himself inside his home after the incident and repeated “Praise God Almighty” as he turned himself in.
He said he didn’t realize exactly what happened until his neighbors found a bullet hole in his kitchen.
But his wife was gardening when Johnson opened fire and has been traumatized ever since.
Leonard Zabowski also said the murder occurred about 100 yards from his home.
“Like I said, 34 years, quiet neighborhood, never an episode like this, never,” he told Fox 2 of the neighborhood.
You never know, anyone with a criminal mind can get a mortgage and move anywhere.
Neighbors describe hearing gunshots and some later finding bullet holes inside their homes.
Johnson has lived in the neighborhood for 12 years and has had multiple contacts with Canton police for assaulting neighbors and, on other occasions, police officers.
He also has criminal sexual conduct charges filed against him dating back to the 1990s, Fox 2 reports.
A neighbor, Nicole Brooks, told the Detroit News that Johnson was always nice to her, but she believed he had mental health issues.
Vadari also said Johnson has become more erratic with neighbors in recent weeks.
“Everyone has been telling their wives and children to be careful, not to make eye contact and not to cross alone,” he said.
Johnson is now charged with first-degree murder, possession of a firearm and two counts of felony firearm.
Johnson is now charged with first-degree murder, possession of a firearm and two counts of felony firearm.
He has pleaded guilty and is being held without bail while local prosecutors seek a competency hearing.
He is due back in court on August 23.
Meanwhile, Morris’ friends were left in shock by his sudden passing, as he leaves behind his wife, Becky, and two young daughters, Molly, 5, and Zoey, 2.
“It was pretty surreal for all of us,” his friend, Edward McCall, told WXYZ, adding that he felt “a little numb, shocked and excited at different times.”
“He was a great man, a true gentleman, a true father figure and I’m trying to come to terms with the loss this represents for his family,” she said. “In my case, I lost a friend, but there are other people who lost much more than I did.”
Morris is remembered as a “family man” who leaves behind his wife Becky and two young daughters, Molly and Zoey.
Morris worked at Ford as an engineer and “got involved in politics as Ford mandated COVID-19 vaccines,” according to the Michigan Republican Party.
Morris would later become secretary of the Republican Party in Wayne and run for the local school board.
The Michigan Republican Party has since described him as “a friend, a fellow patriot, a strong Christian, a wonderful husband to Becky and a great father to Molly and Zoey.”
“Nathan is one of those rare boys who is almost perfect,” the organization said in a statement signed by Republican National Committee member Hima Kolanagireddy.
“He would do no harm or think of harm. He is a wonderful, gentle soul.
“We will miss him very much.”
An online fundraising campaign set up to help his family also describes Morris as a “family man first and foremost.”
‘He will be missed by the hundreds of people who knew and loved him, and enjoyed his entrepreneurial spirit and his strong focus on work and responsibilities which he took on at the expense of valuable family time, especially reading to his children before bed.’
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