(CBS DETROIT) – A Canton Township man who reportedly shot his neighbor dead during a confrontation on Saturday has been charged with first-degree murder.
Devereaux Christopher Johnson, 47, is accused of fatally shooting his neighbor, Nathan Morris, 35, Saturday morning in the 200 block of Cornell Street.
Police responded to a report of a shooting after a brief confrontation between neighbors around 11:48 a.m. Saturday. When officers arrived, they found Morris lying in the street with a gunshot wound.
After shooting Morris, Johnson barricaded himself in his home before eventually surrendering to police, officials said.
Morris was taken to an area hospital, where he died of his injuries. An autopsy revealed that Morris died of multiple gunshot wounds.
“This was a senseless act of violence against the victim,” said Canton Police Chief Chad Baugh. “The Canton Police Department extends our deepest condolences to the victim’s family and to any neighbors who may have witnessed this tragic event.”
Morris, a husband and father of two, was secretary of the Republican Committee for the 6th Congressional District.
“Nathan Morris was a friend, a fellow patriot, a strong Christian, a great husband to Becky, and a wonderful father to Molly and Zoey,” RNC National committee member Hima Kolanagireddy said in a statement. “He was an engineer at Ford Motors and got involved in politics when Ford mandated COVID-19 vaccines. He ran for the Canton School Board to make schools safe for his daughters. I worked closely with him as a past chair of the MI-6th CDRC and as a member of the Wayne 6th CDRC, where he served as secretary.”
Johnson is set to be arraigned Monday afternoon on suspicion of first-degree murder, weapons possession and two counts of felony firearms offenses.
Johnson was convicted of sexual abuse in Nevada in 2015 and is on Michigan’s sex offender registry.
