The family and friends of Michael Hunter, a 37-year-old UPS driver and father of three, announced on Mar. 25 a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest after he was shot and killed early Sunday morning in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood.
Hunter was found by police at about 12:29 a.m. lying on the ground with a gunshot wound to his head in the 8000 block of South Hermitage Avenue. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said detectives are investigating.
On Tuesday, Hunter’s loved ones gathered at the site where he died to call for justice and encourage anyone with information to come forward. “Everything good was living inside of him,” Ryan Mitchell, Hunter’s fiancé and partner of 13 years, said. “I want people to know what was taken from us and help us get justice.”
Family members shared that Hunter grew up nearby but had recently moved after buying a home for his family last September. They believe he returned to Auburn Gresham Saturday night to visit relatives after coming back from a five-day road delivery for work.
According to details collected by family members from people at the scene, someone told Hunter his truck had been stolen. While searching near the intersection of 80th Street and Hermitage Avenue, he was shot. His keys were still in his pocket when police found him; later that day Mitchell located his vehicle using its GPS tracker in Roseland but could not determine who left it there.
Loved ones described Hunter as a devoted parent who supported three children—an eight-year-old son with Mitchell, her daughter Brooklyn Nailer whom he raised since her biological father died in 2012, and another teenage son who “adores and loves him.” Mitchell called him “our hero,” adding: “Anything he wanted to do, he made sure he would get it done.”
Sheila Common, Mitchell’s mother, recalled how Hunter always tried to make others happy: “If he knew what you loved and what you liked, he would try to make sure that you have that.” Nailer remembered how proud her father was when she got into an academic program: “I thought I had so much time,” she said through tears. “I thought he was going to see me graduate.”
Family members posted flyers throughout the neighborhood urging witnesses or anyone with knowledge about the crime to contact authorities. Common said: “The person who did this to Michael will be held accountable and brought to justice because I have prayed and I have entrusted that God will bring him out of hiding.”
Police have not confirmed whether Hunter’s vehicle theft is connected with his death or if suspects have been identified.
