A 65-year-old man has been taken into custody after the deadly shooting of the manager and co-owner of Prime 7, a popular restaurant in Commerce Township in northern Oakland County.
The victim, 44-year-old Francesk Shkambi, was discovered with a gunshot wound on the restaurant’s outdoor patio at 8635 Cooley Lake Road during a Detroit Lions watch event, according to WWJ.
Deputies from the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched around 9:40 p.m. after reports of shots fired.
Investigators say Shkambi stepped outside to speak with a man, and during that interaction, the suspect opened fire. The shooter—identified by Metro Detroit Crime Report as Tonin Pjetri, 65, from Farmington Hills—surrendered to police roughly 20 minutes later. Detectives later recovered a handgun that had previously been reported stolen, WWJ reported.
Shkambi’s niece and nephew told CBS Detroit that the alleged gunman had been a longtime acquaintance of their uncle.
“It was someone he knew,” Shkambi’s nephew, Mark Gjura, told the station. “He had eaten here before. During the Lions game I got a call from friends saying there’d been a shooting at Prime 7, and my mom came downstairs saying, ‘It’s Franco, it’s Franco.’ We rushed to the hospital together.”
.WWJ’s Charlie Langton also reported that Shkambi had been released in December 2024 after President Joe Biden commuted his sentence from a 2013 conviction involving conspiracy to distribute multiple illegal drugs.
Shkambi’s Facebook profile lists his hometown as Shkodër, Albania.
The Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce issued a statement expressing their grief:
> “The Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce is deeply saddened by the loss of Francesk ‘Franco’ Shkambi, owner of Prime 7 Bar & Restaurant. This is a heartbreaking moment for our community, and we extend our condolences to Franco’s family, friends, and the entire Prime 7 staff.
Franco was admired for his kindness, generosity, and unwavering support for the community. His impact was felt by many, and he will be greatly missed.”
