Police respond to the scene of a shooting at the Brooklands Plaza Splash Pad, Saturday, June 15, 2024, in Rochester Hills, Mich. The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office says there are “numerous wounded victims†after police were called for an active shooter. (WXYZ via AP)
ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. (AP) – Nine people were injured, including an 8-year-old boy who was struck in the head and was in critical condition, after a shooter opened fire at a splash pad in a Detroit suburb where families gathered to escape the summer heat Saturday. Law enforcement tracked a suspect to a home, where the person died by suicide, authorities said.
At least two of the victims were children, officials said. Authorities initially said they believed as many as 10 people had gunshot wounds from the shooting in Rochester Hills, but that number was revisedlater on after they checked with area hospitals.
Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard provided the information about the 8-year-old during a nighttime news conference. He also said the boy’s 4-year-old brother was wounded in the leg and in stable condition, while the child’s mother was critical after being wounded in the abdomen and leg.
The other six victims, all 30 or older, were in stable condition, Bouchard said. They included a husband-and-wife couple and a 78-year-old man.
The shooting happened just after 5 p.m. at a city park featuring a recreation area with a non-slip surface where people can turn on sprays and fountains of water to play in. Bouchard said it the shooting appeared to be random, with the shooter driving up to the park, walking to the splash pad and firing as many as 28 times, stopping multiple times to reload.
In the chaos, “People were falling, getting hit, trying to run,” Bouchard said. “Terrible things that unfortunately all of us in our law enforcement business have seen way too much.”
The gunman was “apparently in no rush. Just calmly walked back to his car,” the sheriff said.
Police heard the 911 call reporting the shooting as it came in, Bouchard said, because the agency uses a service that simultaneously sends emergency calls to first responders. An officer was at the scene within two minutes, he said.
Bouchard said the first deputies who arrived immediately began providing first aid including tourniquets. Officers also were able to quickly come up with a likely address, and a car matching the suspect’s vehicle was at the residence.
Deputies surrounded the home and tried to make contact with the suspect inside to no avail, Bouchard said. After deploying a drone, they eventually entered the home and found the suspect dead inside.
Another weapon was found in the home, and the quick containment of the suspect may have prevented a “second chapter” to the shooting, the sheriff said.
The suspect does not live in Rochester Hills and investigators do not yet know why he went to the splash pad, according to Bouchard.
A handgun and three empty magazines were recovered at the scene of the shootings, the sheriff said.
Police cordoned off the area with tape, and dozens of yellow evidence markers lay on on the ground among colorful folding chairs.
“When I got on scene I started to cry because I know what a splash pad is supposed to be,” Rochester Hills Mayor Bryan Barnett said – a place where people gather and have fun.
The shooting was a reminder “that we live in a fragile place,” Barnett said.
Rochester Hills is about 15 miles (24 kilometers) south of Oxford, where in 2021 a 15-year-old fatally shot four high school students.
Saturday’s shooting came at the end of the first full week of summer vacation for students attending Rochester Community schools.
Bouchard called it “a gut punch” for the county.
“We’ve gone through so many tragedies,” the sheriff said. “You know, we’re not even fully comprehending what happened at Oxford. And, you know, now we have another complete tragedy that we’re dealing with.”
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said on the social platform X that she was heartbroken to learn of the shooting and was in touch with local officials.
