MUSKEGON, Mich. — Loved ones are rallying to give a Muskegon man killed Sunday a proper funeral.
Close friends remember Jordan Carey, 29, from Muskegon as a caring man who turned his life around. He was shot and killed at his home on Merrill Avenue Sunday morning. The second gunshot victim, Mariah Cantu, 25, also from Muskegon, is recovering.
Police identified the alleged shooter as Matthew Hartman, 27, who died from a gunshot wound, after he held his wife at gunpoint in front of their West Olive home, after shooting Carey and Cantu in Muskegon Sunday morning.
Close friends tell FOX 17 Carey was giving, he called his friends his family, and he turned his life around after losing his parents, sister and overcoming drugs. He was recently paroled then rented his home and was happy, working six days per week at a local technology business. Many explained how he inspired them, or how his smile left lasting impressions.
“Jordan was a real bright individual,” said Chris Thompson, a good friend who says he knew Carey since they were teens. “He was loyal to a fault. That was Jordan, no matter what you needed help with, he’d help you with it.”
The shootings started Sunday morning before 7:30 a.m., when police say Hartman drove to Carey’s home in Muskegon, and family tell FOX 17 Hartman was with his wife Mary Hartman, 26. Thompson says Carey and Mary Hartman were just friends.
“I knew that there wasn’t anything between [Carey and Mary Hartman], because that was my friend too, I was friends with Mary [Hartman] too,” said Thompson. “We all would hang out.”
When the Hartmans drove back to their West Olive home, police say Matthew Hartman held his wife at gunpoint, refused to drop the gun, and a Holland Police officer shot and killed him. That officer is on leave as State Police investigate the officer-involved shooting.
“[Jordan Carey] was a genuine, kind-hearted person,” said James Herbert, a good friend of Carey’s since junior high. “He always managed to keep a positive outlook despite all the disadvantages that were thrown his way.”
The fundraiser for Jordan Carey’s memorial is located on GoFundMe here.
Court documents also show the Hartmans were in the process of getting divorced.
