A man is dead following a domestic-related shooting in Orion Township. The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office reports that an armed man broke into the Orion Township residence of his ex-girlfriend and was fatally shot by the woman’s stepson.
Authorities have identified the ex-boyfriend as 67-year-old Galen Gavitt of Unionville. The 62-year-old ex-girlfriend and her 36-year-old stepson were not injured in the incident. Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard explained that the ex-girlfriend had been living in Orion Township with her stepson and his wife after her 17-year relationship with Gavitt soured.
The incident unfolded just after 10 a.m. at a residence in the 1200 block of Elkhorn Road. Deputies responded to the residence for a report of a breaking and entering. The stepson told a dispatcher that he and his stepmother were fearful of Gavitt and that his stepmother had a valid personal protection order that prevented Gavitt from entering her home legally.
The ex-girlfriend had obtained an extreme risk protection order on June 12 until Michigan’s “red flag” laws. OCSO says the stepson claimed Gavitt made threats that he would kill them.
Jay Skelton is an independent crime journalist with a passion for covering the uncovered and the under covered.