Updated: Washtenaw County Sheriff's deputies searching for 3 suspects in shooting of 30-year-old Superior Township man

Around 3:10 p.m. today, the Sheriff's Department received a report of shots fired in the Sycamore Meadows complex in the 8700 block of MacArthur Boulevard. When deputies arrived at the scene, they found Gardner shot to death on the sidewalk.

Marget Tracy Pittman

This evening, police released the identities and names of two people considered "persons of interest" in the case.

Marget Tracy Pittman, 35, and LaShawn Antonio Covington, 18, are being sought for questioning.

Police previously said it was unclear whether three or four people were involved, and released descriptions of three men seen fleeing south on MacArthur Boulevard in a dark green four-door sedan of a foreign make.

Two of the men were described as black, between 6 feet 1 inch to 6 feet 3 inches tall, and about 160 pounds. The third was described as black, 5 feet 8 inches tall, and 140 pounds.

LaShawn Antonio Covington

It is likely Gardner, who lived in another part of Superior Township with his mother, knew the other men, said Derrick Jackson, the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Department's director of community engagement.

"There was an altercation earlier in the day," Jackson said. "And this seems to be how it ended."

While friends and family waited for the medical examiner to arrive, they expressed sadness and shock at Gardner's violent death.

"He was as sweet as could be," said Gardner's aunt, Mary Myers. "He'd give you the shirt off his back. He's going to be missed."

Gardner's cousin, Telicia Gardner, described him as a good and funny person. "He didn't deserve what happened to him," she said.

Sam Johnson, a friend who also lives in the complex, said Gardner "wasn't the violent type."

"He was a good dude," Johnson said. "I don't know why anyone would want to do that to him."

Anyone with information on the shooting is asked to call the sheriff's tip line at 734-973-7711.

Erica Hobbs is a reporter for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at ericahobbs@annarbor.com or 734-623-2537.