Man Shot Dead As Toddler Son Slept in Nearby Room: Police

A Michigan man has been fatally shot while his 3-year-old son was sleeping in a nearby room, according to police reports.

Ann Arbor police were alerted to reports of a shooting on Sunday, June 4. When officers arrived, they found a dead 24-year-old man who had suffered multiple gunshot wounds.

A preliminary investigation reported the victim was walking up to his home when a man, who he knew, confronted him and opened fire. The victim then entered the home where his girlfriend and son lived.

A June 5 Ann Arbor police Facebook statement read: "The preliminary investigation revealed the victim was walking up to his home on Sandalwood Circle when a man known to him confronted him and opened fire. The victim was struck by the gunfire. The victim then entered his home where a 23-year-old female and his 3-year-old son were inside.

"She told officers she managed to escape the home, but her boyfriend and son were in the home, with possibly the suspect still inside."

The post continued: "Officers made entry into the home and located the victim deceased. The child was found inside an upstairs bedroom unharmed. The suspect had already fled the scene and was not inside the home."

Officers later identified a 22-year-old man who lives in the area as a suspect in the fatal shooting.

He was arrested in a parking lot near the scene of the shooting without incident and police are working to learn the motive behind the crime, which at the time of writing remains unknown.

The Ann Arbor Police Department added: "The shooting is not believed to be random and there is no threat to the community. Charges are pending prosecutor review."

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there were 822 reported homicides in Michigan in 2021.

The CDC added Michigan had a homicide death rate of 8.7 out of every 100,000 people living in the state.

According to the Gun Violence Archive, a database that collects information about shootings from across the U.S., there have been two fatal shootings in Ann Arbor since January 1 this year.

The same database reported that 79 people have been fatally shot in Michigan since the start of 2023.

Across the U.S. this year there have been 18,316 firearm deaths, 10,362 of which are listed as suicides. There have been 7,954 deaths registered as homicide, murder, unintentional, and defensive gun use.

Newsweek has contacted the Ann Arbor Police Department for comment via email.