Ann Arbor man shot to death in ambush while 3-year-old son slept in next room

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (FOX 2) - A 22-year-old Ann Arbor man was in police custody after allegedly killing his neighbor — someone he had known since high school.

The fatal shooting happened Sunday night at the Parkway Meadows apartment complex on Nixon Road. The gunman's 3-year-old son was inside the residence when it happened, but was not injured.

"Interestingly enough we had an officer on a traffic crash up in that area and heard what sounded like a gunshot," said Interim Police Chief Aimee Metzer, AAPD.

FOX 2 spoke with a neighbor of the 24-year-old victim — she did not want to be identified.

"Every time I saw him he was smiling and I just thought his smile was really beautiful," said Lenelle. "I was just getting to know him, I thought that I would be seeing him the next day and then I was told today that he was killed."

"He exited his vehicle was walking down the sidewalk up to his unit and out of no what appears to be a planned ambush of the victim," Metzer said.

Investigators say despite being shot at outside — the victim was able to run into his apartment

"So the girlfriend was there, saw her boyfriend, the victim, running by (and) saw him being pursued, and ran out of the apartment for her own safety," Metzer said.

The suspect chased the victim upstairs and into his bedroom where he continued to shoot him, killing him, according to police.

His 3-year-old son, sleeping in another bedroom

"This is a time when officers put their lives on the line to go out and protect what they thought was a 3-year-old at risk of being shot," the interim chief said. "They geared up with their vests heading in there, not knowing what was going to wait for them on the other side of the door."

Thankfully the child was unharmed. Authorities arrested the suspect a short time later near the scene.

Right now police are not commenting on motive. This is just the second homicide in Ann Arbor this year.

"I just really wish people would just calm down, take a step back before they do something like that," Lenelle said. "Because it is a permanent situation, and he’s not here anymore, and that’s wrong."