A cleaning worker has been arrested after killing a colleague on Thursday during a dispute at the General Motors Orion assembly plant in Michigan, authorities and the company said.
Both colleagues were employed by an outside cleaning service at the Lake Orion assembly plant, according to General Motors and the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies responded to a report of an injured person at the factory at 1:37 a.m. Thursday and found the victim, identified as 49-year-old Gregory Lanier Robertson, “unconscious and bleeding”.
Deputies performed CPR on Robertson, but were unable to resuscitate him. He was pronounced dead on the spot.
He was described as a Pontiac resident who worked in the factory for seven months.
An autopsy will be performed on Thursday.
A 48-year-old man was arrested in connection with “the fatal attack,” the sheriff’s office said.
The suspect, whose name was not released, was found in a dock area of ​​the factory not far from where Robertson’s body was found, officials said.
He was taken into custody without incident and is being held in the Oakland County Jail.
“It is not known how long the suspect worked at the factory. The item used in the murder has been recovered. The incident and possible motive are still under investigation,” the sheriff said.
Officials did not elaborate on how Robertson was killed or what led to the confrontation.
Sheriff’s detectives are expected to submit the case to prosecutors Friday on possible charges of murder.
General Motors said it canceled production at the plant on Thursday and the company is working with authorities on the investigation.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victim’s family,” the company said in a statement.
Authorities said there was no active threat to the community or the factory.
The assembly plant, which employs 1,228 people, builds electric vehicles, including the Chevrolet Bolt EV and Bolt EUV models, according to its website. The factory was opened in 1983 and covers 4.3 million square meters.