A Howell man was shot dead Sunday night outside a Commerce Township restaurant Sunday night, and his alleged killer is in custody, officials said.
The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office identified the victim as Francesk Shkambi, 44, general manager of Prime 7 Bar & Restaurant.
According to Sheriff Mike Bouchard, deputies were dispatched to the business, located at 8635 Cooley Lake Road, shortly after 9:30 p.m. Nov. 16 on a report of a shooting and found Shkambi lying on the patio. Life-saving measures were administered, Bouchard, said, and then Shkambi was transported to an area hospital where he died.
He had been shot twice, Bouchard said.
Bouchard said the shooting, witnessed by several people, is believed to have happened after an ongoing disagreement between the two men escalated. Shkambi and the alleged shooter had known each other for “a period of time,” he said.
Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard during a media briefing on the fatal shooting outside Prime 7 in Commerce Township (screenshot, Aileen Wingblad/MediaNews Group)
The Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce lists Shkambi as Prime 7’s owner but according to Bouchard he was the restaurant’s general manager, not the owner.
Approximately 20 minutes after the shooting, the suspect — a 65-year-old Farmington Hills man — turned himself in at the Farmington Hills Police Department. The sheriff’s Fugitive Apprehension Team took custody of him without incident. He confessed to the shooting, Bouchard said.
Bouchard said investigators have “some sense” of what the disagreement was about but declined to share a possible motive for the shooting. It’s not believed to be “specifically related” to Shkambi’s conviction more than a decade ago on a federal charge of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute illegal drugs.
Patrons of the restaurant are using social media to express shock and sadness over Shkambi’s death, referring to him as “Franco” and describing him as a kind and generous man.
Detectives recovered a 9mm semi-automatic handgun believed to have been used in the fatal shooting. The firearm had been reported stolen out of Clinton Township this past January, Bouchard said.
The suspect is held in the Oakland County Jail. The case is expected to be submitted to the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office on Tuesday for review and consideration of criminal charges. The suspect has a conviction for drunk driving but no violent criminal history, Bouchard said.
This was the second fatal shooting in Oakland County in less than 48 hours. On Nov. 15, a 26-year-old Pontiac man died after being shot on Osmun Street in Pontiac, officials said. As in the Commerce incident, the suspect turned himself in at the Farmington Hills Police Department.
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