Well, it was well known Michael was a war hero, but If I were Sollozzo I would have taken care about him, even Michael hadn`t criminal backgrounds, he was a was hero and that makes him capable to kill, he must have killed more than one hundred people in the World War 2. I guess doesn`t make any difference but the far or close distance like Santino says to Michael.

Despite all this, Michael was the only choice, so he was not believed to be a gangster, but Michael did it both business and personal matters. They shot his father to .

"Everything is personal. Every bit of business" Michael Corleone in The Godfather Novel