A Canton Township father was killed Saturday after he was allegedly shot on Cornell Street by a neighbor who was angry because the man’s daughter had touched his mulch, according to police and the Michigan GOP.
The 35-year-old father 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 of Nathan Morris, who was senselessly taken from us while we were protecting his family in Canton,” the statement said.
He was secretary of the 6th Congressional District Republican Committee, according to a post by the state Republicans on X. The statement said Morris was walking with his family in his neighborhood when “his daughter touched the mulch… of a neighbor.”
The neighbor became angry, the post said. Morris sent his daughter home and was then shot.
When police responded to a 911 call at 11:48 a.m., they found Morris bleeding in the street and took him to a local hospital, where he died, according to Canton Township police.
The neighbor barricaded himself in his house after the shooting, police said. He eventually turned himself in. The suspect remains in custody, police said.
“Nate was a great father and a good man,” the Michigan GOP post said. “The thought that his life was taken because his daughter was playing with mulch in someone’s yard is unfathomable. Even in his final act as a father, he protected his children by sending them home while he tried to defuse the situation.”
Neighbors said the suspected shooter, whose name the Detroit News is not naming because he has not been charged, was known for getting into fights with people. One neighbor, who declined to speak to a reporter because he may be involved in the criminal case, said several bullets went through his window at the home where he lives with his partner and three children.
Nicole Brooks, who lives in the neighborhood, said the suspected shooter was always kind to her, but she believes he has mental health issues. Brooks was walking her dog in the quiet neighborhood Sunday night.
Morris has been active in the community and recently ran for the Plymouth-Canton Community Schools school board, according to the Michigan GOP’s post on X.
“He was an engineer at Ford Motors and became politically active when Ford mandated COVID-19 vaccinations,” said Hima Kolanagireddy, a member of the RNC national committee.
The Canton Township police chief called the death a “senseless act of violence.”
“The Canton Police Department would like to extend our deepest condolences to the victim’s family and 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 launched to support the family.
“Mr. Nathan Morris was first and foremost a family man,” the fundraiser states. “He will be missed by the hundreds of people who knew him, loved him and appreciated his drive and strong focus on the work and responsibilities he took on at the expense of precious family time, especially reading to his children at bedtime.”
