Beloved Dad Is Shot Dead Near His Home by Neighbor From Hell

A beloved Michigan father-of-two was shot dead by a neighbor from hell after he went for an afternoon stroll over the weekend.

Nathan Morris, 35, was walking around his normally-quiet neighborhood in Canton just before noon on Saturday with his family when police say Deveraux Christopher Johnson, 47, confronted him and the two got into an argument.

Johnson was allegedly upset because Morris’ daughter ‘touched the mulch’ on his property, the Michigan GOP wrote as it announced Morris’ death on Sunday.

‘The neighbor took a gun out and started threatening the family,’ the post read.

‘Nathan sent his family home and said that he would try to [defuse] the situation, but instead was shot and killed.’

Police say Johnson fired multiple rounds at Morris, and when officers arrived on the scene of Cornell Street at 11.48am, they found the victim suffering from a gunshot wound in the middle of the street, Fox 2 Detroit reports.

First responders then rushed Morris to a local hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.

Meanwhile, the suspect barricaded himself inside his home as the police arrived.

After several orders to surrender, Johnson finally walked out of the house with his hands raised, repeating, ‘Praise to God Almighty,’ and he 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 tell how Johnson opened fire in broad daylight.

‘It was so crazy. It happened so quickly, all I remember is when I heard the loud shots, I didn’t know what it was,’ neighbor Vish Vadari told WXYZ.

‘I realized it was not Diwali or July Fourth, so I couldn’t correlate to what it was, but I knew it was something very, very loud.’

He said he did not realize exactly what happened until his neighbors found a bullet hole in their kitchen.

But his wife was gardening when Johnson opened fire, and has been left traumatized ever since.

Leonard Zabowski also said the murder was just about 100 yards from his home.

‘Like I said, 34 years, quiet neighborhood, never [an] episode like this – ever,’ he told Fox 2 of the neighborhood.

‘You never know, anybody with a criminal mind can get a mortgage and move anywhere.’

Johnson has lived in the neighborhood for 12 years and has had multiple contacts with the Canton police for assaulting neighbors, and at other times assaulting police officers.

He also has criminal sexual conduct charges filed against him dating back to the 1990s, Fox 2 reports.

One neighbor, Nicole Brooks, told the Detroit News 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.

‘Everybody has been telling their wives and kids, be careful, don’t [make] eye contact, don’t walk across alone,’ he said.

Johnson is now charged with first-degree murder, felon in possession of a firearm and two counts of felony firearm.

A guilty plea has been entered on his behalf, and he is being held without bond as the local prosecutors’ office asks for a competency hearing.

He is due in back in court on August 23.

Meanwhile, Morris’ friends have been left shaken by his sudden passing, as he leaves behind his wife, Becky, and their two young daughters, Molly, 5, and Zoey, 2.

‘It was pretty surreal for all of us,’ his friend, Edward McCall, told WXYZ – saying he has felt ‘kind of numb and shocked and emotional at different times.

‘He was a great man, a real gentleman, a real father figure and I’m just kind of sorting through the kind of loss this represents for his family,’ he said. ‘For me, I lost a friend, but there’s other people who lost a lot more than I did.’

Morris worked at Ford as an engineer, and ‘got involved in politics when Ford mandated COVID-19 vaccines,’ according to the Michigan GOP.

Morris would then go on to become secretary of the Republican Party in Wayne, and ran for the local school board.

The Michigan GOP has since described him as ‘a friend, a fellow patriot, a strong Christian, a wonderful husband to Becky and a great dad to Molly and Zoey.

‘Nathan is one of those few guys who are near perfect,’ the organization said in a statement signed off by Republican National Committeewoman Hima Kolanagireddy.

‘He would do no harm and think of no harm. He is just an amazing and gentle soul.

‘He will be missed dearly.’

An online fundraiser 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 him and 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.’