A longtime resident of Decatur Avenue in Norwood was shot dead early on Valentine’s Day as he was getting into his car to go to work.

Police say they discovered Michael Lorge, 42, sitting behind the wheel of a red Mitsubishi with two bullet holes in his head at 5:43 a.m. The car, which belonged to his companion Paul Garrison, was parked just across the street from where the couple lived at 3228 Decatur Ave.

Though some neighbors heard at least one loud gunshot, police were responding to a report of an unconscious person sitting in his car, according to police reports.

At the crime scene, Mark, a 42-year-old resident of the block who declined to give his last name, said he was a lifelong friend of Lorge’s and attended elementary and middle school with him at St. Brendan’s School. He watched as medical examiners laid out the victim’s body on the sidewalk beside the red Mitsubishi.

“He was a really smart guy,” Mark said. “I want to find out what happened. Was it a mugging or a vendetta? I knew the guy my whole life.”

Detectives do not believe robbery was the motive as Lorge’s wallet and other valuables were not touched.

Later that day, Garrison, 38, who was briefly taken to the 52nd Precinct for questioning, talked to reporters from the front door of the home the two shared. “His boss called me and asked me where he was, and I saw his car was still there and the police told me what happened,” Garrison said.

Visibly shaken and distraught over the loss of his companion of 14 years, Garrison called the killing “senseless.” He added, “My life ended when his did, he was everything to me.”

Garrison later left the home and returned with a bouquet of roses, which he left on the sidewalk near where Lorge had died.

One of Lorge’s neighbors, who declined to give his name, said it was common knowledge in the neighborhood that Lorge was involved in a long-term dispute with his landlord over rent. “The apartment was rent controlled but they wanted to make it rent stabilized,” the man said. “He was supposed to be in court on Tuesday. I understand they shot him as he got into his car.”

Garrison confirmed that Lorge had been battling his landlord, Ndue “Tony” Gelaj, 63, the owner of Fishman Realty, which has its offices on East 208th Street, in Housing Court over the rent of the 5-room apartment. Lorge had been paying just $257 a month, and was due back in court on Tuesday, Feb. 17.

Someone attacked Lorge just before his last Housing Court date, in April 2008, Garrison said. Lorge suffered a broken nose, but was not robbed during the attack. He filed a police report, but no suspects were apprehended, Garrison said.

Since then, Garrison said Lorge had kept all the documentation from two previous Housing Court cases in a red briefcase, which police found alongside his bloody body in the red Mitsubishi.

Repeated calls to Fishman Realty and the Yonkers home of the landlord were not returned.

More evidence may be forthcoming. At least one video camera was spotted on a private home across the street from the shooting and residents claim there are several on the block. One resident claimed there were two young women who live in a nearby building and may have witnessed the killing.

Lorge was a dispatcher for a Yonkers cab company and also hosted a radio show for a nonprofit Web site on Mondays and Saturdays. He also played keyboards and was a big train buff.

A service for Lorge will be held at St. Brendan’s Church on Thursday, Feb. 19. Police said the investigation is ongoing.