Father of two shot to death in gas station ambush in front of kids

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Detroit police at the scene of the BP shooting on Vernor.

Police are looking for a suspect who shot a father to death outside a Detroit gas station in front of his two babies in the back seat.

The surveillance video is quick but what happened after the suspect walked out of frame leave two children without their father. Police say the man seen in security video ambushed a 23-year-old Andre Johnson, Jr., shooting him dead.

The incident happened just before 7:30 p.m. Saturday when Andre Johnson, Jr. was shot  It happened at a BP gas station at the corner of east Vernor and Mount Elliot on Detroit's east side.

"His back was turned; he was tending to his children so he did not even see the suspect approaching," said Sgt. Cassandra Lewis. ""We believe they may have known each other, we are investigating that aspect. We believe it may have started on social media."

Police say the victim's girlfriend was in the store at the time of the shooting. She tried to get out but could not, because the employees at the gas station locked the door. Its protocol in a situation like this - there was a crowd in the store and didn’t know what they were dealing with.

This video came from the gas station. We are told investigators also went to the auto repair shop next door looking for more clues.

The suspect is described as a black man who’s about 6-feet-tall. He was wearing a dark hoodie and dark pants at the time of the shooting - one that left a 1-year-old and 6-month-old without a father, who cared for them so much.

"We will find him, we will bring him to justice," Lewis said. "You do not do things like this."