Prosecutors: Lansing man killed in act of self defense

LANSING – "I shot him. It was me," the man shouted to police.

Minutes earlier, he had intervened in a domestic dispute prosecutors say could have left him and his female neighbor dead. Prosecutors ruled he acted in self-defense last year when he wrestled a gun away from Christopher Strong, 27, and shot him with it.

None of that was immediately clear the night of Sept. 16. Police found the neighbor performing CPR on Strong when they arrived around 10 p.m. to the South Pine Street apartment where Strong lived with his girlfriend. Strong, shot once in the chest, died at the scene a short time later. Police handcuffed the neighbor, who at one point appeared on the verge of passing out and asked to speak to his pastor, according to police reports.

Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III ruled Strong's death a justifiable homicide late last year, he confirmed earlier this month.

The State Journal is not naming the woman or the neighbor because they were not charged with a crime.

'Call the police'

Strong had been drinking before arriving home that night, the girlfriend told police, and a fight ensued.

Strong kicked her leg and spit in her face, she told police. She dialed 911 when Strong refused to leave. That agitated Strong, who threatened her with a semi-automatic handgun loaded with hollow-point bullets, according to records. The gun was registered to Strong's ex-girlfriend, police said.

According to his then-girlfriend, Strong said: "If anyone shows up, no one is getting out of this apartment." She took that to mean he would kill her, her son and himself, she told police.

At 9:45 p.m, she texted the neighbor: "Can u come get (my son) hes at ur door please and call the police." The neighbor let her son inside.

At 9:51 p.m., the neighbor replied: "Can u leave safely."

The neighbor went to the couple's apartment and heard a gunshot after entering, he told police. An errant shot had been fired, according to police.

The neighbor told police he then attempted to wrestle the gun away from Strong, who struck him several times in the head with the butt of the gun. As the struggle continued, the neighbor got control of the gun and shot Strong, according to police. The neighbor told police he pulled the trigger because he feared Strong would overpower and kill him.

Contrary to the police report, Strong's brother, Lilton Montgomery Jr., said Strong would never threaten to shoot his girlfriend or her son. Montgomery said the neighbor took matters into his own hands and should have waited for police. He said police relied too heavily on the accounts of the girlfriend, the neighbor, and what tenants said they heard, and not enough on physical evidence.

"What we know of Chris, the story just doesn't add up," Montgomery said. "I think he was scared that night. He didn't know what to do."

"Outside of the police report, the family's concerns pertain to the police investigation itself," Strong's father, Lilton Montgomery Sr., said in an email. "The family maintains the feeling that justice has not been served in Chris' homicide case."

Strong's family moved from Detroit to Lansing in the 1990s to find a safer home, Montgomery Jr. said

Strong had recently started a job driving commercial trucks and hoped to drive around the country. His obituary said he volunteered frequently in the community for local nonprofits, get-out-the-vote campaigns and Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.

"This is our absolute worst case scenario that he would get shot," Montgomery Jr. said. "He had his issues, but he was a positive person."