Nathan Morris Death Canton Township MI – A Canton Township father was killed Saturday after he allegedly was shot by a neighbor on Cornell Street who was angry the man’s daughter had touched his mulch, police said.
The father, 35, 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 about Nathan Morris, who was senselessly take from us while protecting his family in Canton,” the statement said.
Morris’ daughter was playing with mulch in a neighbor’s yard when the neighbor became angry, police said. Morris sent his daughter home and was shot, police said. When police responded to a call at 11:48 a.m., they found Morris bleeding in the street and transferred him to a local hospital, where he died.
A neighbor barricaded himself in his home following the shooting, police said. He eventually surrendered. The suspect remains jailed, police said. “Nate was a great Dad and good man,” the Michigan GOP post said.
“To think his life was taken because his daughter was playing with mulch in someone’s yard is unfathomable. Even in his final act as a dad he was protecting his children by sending them home while he tried to defuse the situation.”
Morris was active in the community and recently ran for the Plymouth-Canton Community Schools Board of Education, according to a post on X by a member of the Michigan GOP. “He was an engineer at Ford Motors and got involved in politics when Ford mandated COVID-19 vaccines,” said Hima Kolanagireddy, RNC National committeewoman.
Canton Township’s police chief called the death “a senseless act of violence.”
“The Canton Police Department sends our deepest condolences to the victim’s family, and to the 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 started to support the family.
“Mr. Nathan Morris was a family man first and foremost,” according to the fundraiser. “He will be missed by the hundreds of people who knew him, 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.”