In the late hours of a Thursday night in downtown Tucson, a verbal dispute in the hallway of the Martin Luther King Building apartment complex at 55 N. Fifth Ave. tragically escalated, ending the life of 57-year-old Andre Michael Lee. On April 29, 2021, just before midnight, a confrontation between Lee and another man turned fatal.
Responding to a report of a shooting, Tucson police officers arrived at the apartment complex to find Lee with gunshot trauma.
Despite their efforts, he was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators determined that an argument preceded the shooting, after which the assailant fled.
The investigation swiftly led to the identification of a suspect. The following day, Joseph Paul Cavanaugh, 32, was arrested in connection with the fatal shooting. Cavanaugh was subsequently charged with first-degree murder and first-degree burglary. He was booked into the Pima County Detention Center as the investigation continued, with the possibility of additional charges pending.
