Waterford Township — A Waterford woman is in custody Friday after calling 911 and admitting she fatally shot her husband, police said.

Waterford Police Department said the 51-year-old woman made the emergency call at 11:45 a.m.

When officers arrived at the home on Meadowood Drive, they found a 45-year-old man fatally shot in the backyard. A semi-automatic handgun was recovered at the scene.

Friday evening, three police vehicles were stationed outside the home and officers told The Detroit News that the investigation remained ongoing. Police declined to provide information on possible charges or motive.

Several neighbors of the couple said they didn’t know the family well, but often saw them outdoors playing with their young son. Police said the boy was at home when the shooting took place. He was not harmed and has been placed with relatives, police said.

Raina Sulich, who has lived directly across the street for more than a year, said she was at home with her mother and 9-month-old baby when she heard two gunshots.

“I looked at my mom and said ‘did you hear that?’... I thought it was just the ice machine, but soon after, we knew it wasn’t,” said Sulich, 35.

Sulich said she was scared and shocked, adding she initially thought the woman had shot both her husband and her son.

“We would see them out on their bikes every day... they seemed OK," she said.

Another neighbor, Kevin Essian, said the couple had gotten into numerous arguments in recent years.

Essian said he knew something was wrong when he came home from lunch and saw a helicopter over his home.

The 30-year-old, who has lived across the street since 2010, said he'd once saved the couple's son from running into the road. The father then walked up to get the boy and didn't say a word, he said.

"I was speechless," said Essian, who described the father as "not friendly at all." He added that he didn't know the wife well, but "heard them arguing often."

Larry Ivory, a retired Waterford police officer, said he moved in across the street last week.

“I only talked to the man once at our shared mailbox and only saw her (the wife) in passing, but he seems like a stay-at-home dad and she worked,” he said. “I saw them outside riding bicycles this week with the little boy."

Ivory, 68, was home when the shooting occurred but said he didn't hear the shots.

“I know protocol and when I saw the officer approach the home carefully with the police vehicle parked down the street, I knew someone was armed,” he said. “She met them at the doorway and they arrested her without incident.”

srahal@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @SarahRahal_