DETROIT (WXYZ) — Detroit police are trying to track down a man who fatally shot a father of two because he didn't hold the elevator open.
It happened early Sunday morning at a party at the International Banquet and Conference Center in Greektown.
The victim was identified as 29-year-old Ariel Harris.
"I wake up and cry every morning for Ace, you know," said Cameron Harris, the victim's brother.
These days, Cameron Harris finds it hard to leave the house. He keeps replaying the moment his brother was shot right in front of him.
"It really traumatized me," Cameron Harris said. "Like, I don't want to do anything. I just want to be with my family."
Those who were close to Ariel Harris called him Ace. Cameron Harris says his brother invited him out to a party in Greektown. He says they were both on the fence but ultimately decided to go.
It was a good time. They were vibing, according to Cameron Harris.
He says they went to leave, and Ace was holding the elevator for a group of women. Cameron Harris says another man was trying to push through to get on first.
"All he said is, 'I am about to get on this elevator. I don't care what nobody says,'" Cameron Harris recalled. "I'm thinking we're about to fight. In the midst, I just see this guy turn around and turn toward my brother."
Within seconds, Cameron Harris says Ace dropped to the ground. He had been shot. Cameron Harris says he and some Detroit Police Department officers drove him to the hospital in a cop car.
"I am just laying my face against my brother's face and I am saying, 'Stay up for your kids, bro. Just stay up,'" Cameron Harris said. "Like, 'You're breathing. Just stay.' And I really thought he was going to make it."
Detroit police are now looking for the suspected gunman, Gayelon Spencer.
They released surveillance video of him leaving the scene, hoping someone will turn him in.
"You shoot, you take a person's life because he is being gentlemen," said Rosalind Hearst, Ace's mother. "So, were you raised by wolves?"
Hearst is angry and hurt. She says her son was a hardworker and a man who lived for his two boys.
"To wake up and he's not there, it's hard," said Jordan Harris, Ace's 9-year-old son. "Call him every day and it's just — I want to see him again, but I can't."
Ace's million-dollar smile is already sorely missed. His family wants Spencer, his accused killer, behind bars.
"You're hiding now, but you were the big man that night, okay," Hearst said. "You pull out a gun, you shoot a person and now you're somewhere hiding because you're a whole coward."
Hearts says Spencer took her son's life, seemingly without remorse and now, her family is forever scarred.
"I never thought that this would happen to us — I never," Hearst said.
According to Hearst and her son Cameron Harris, Ace's Rolex watch and gold chain went missing after he got to the hospital. They never found it when they retrieved his belongings.
"How do you take from a dying person? How do you take — I just don't understand," Hearst said.
Ace was a well-known barber in Detroit. His family is holding a vigil Friday outside where he worked. They started a GoFundMe page in Ace's honor for his children.
The family is begging the public to come forward with information about Ace's killer. If you know anything, you can call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-Speak-Up.
