A community is reeling after nine people, including two children, were injured when a man opened fire at a Detroit-area splash pad.
The incident happened at Brooklands Plaza Splash Pad in Rochester Hills, Michigan, on Saturday evening.
Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard released the victims' ages, which are as follows:
- 8-year-old boy
- 4-year-old boy
- 39-year-old woman
- 39-year-old woman
- 30-year-old woman
- 30-year-old man
- 78-year-old man
- 37-year-old woman
- 40-year-old man
Bouchard said that some of the victims were part of the same family.
Officials believe the shooting at the splash pad appeared to be random.
“It’s a gut punch… we’ve gone through so many tragedies,” said Bouchard.
Bouchard said law enforcement was able to track the suspect to a residence in Shelby Township. SWAT attempted to make contact, but later officials found that the suspected shooter was deceased.
The suspected gunman died by suicide, police say.
According to Bouchard, the 42-year-old suspect, who police identified as Michael William Nash, had no criminal history and was living with his mother.
At a press conference Sunday, Oakland County Executive Dave Coulter said that three of the nine victims were operated on Saturday night, including the 8-year-old boy. The current condition of the victims hospitalized are unknown at this time.
"Yesterday's horrific shooting of nine people, including two young boys, at a splash pad in Rochester Hills is just another appalling example of senseless violence," Coulter said on Sunday. "Unfortunately in my five years as a county executive, this is now my second mass shooting. We're getting all too good at this and I'm disgusted by it."
Coulter said that anyone traumatized or affected by this event is asked to reach out to the Oakland County Health Network for help. Anyone who can't make it to Rochester Hills for in-person help is asked to call the nurse on call at 800-848-5533. Those services are available 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Friday.
Rochester Hills Mayor Brian Barnett also spoke at the press conference, saying the past 24 hours "have been a nightmare."
Bouchard said the shooting victims are being treated in four nearby hospitals.
Corewell Health released the following statement on Saturday evening: "Our hearts are with those who were impacted by the shooting that occurred in Rochester Hills. We can confirm our team is caring for some of the victims, but we are not releasing any additional information."
Earlier reports from officials indicated possibly more injuries, but those numbers have since been revised.
We're told the suspect drove up just after 5 p.m. and then approached the splash pad, potentially firing more than 20 shots before leaving the scene. A weapon was recovered at the scene, according to Bouchard. At least one additional weapon was found inside the home.
“I had my own son here last year, and I was supposed to have him this weekend and I was going to bring him up here to the same place … and I thank God that I didn’t, I could be at the hospital with my son right now,” said a local resident.
“It’s traumatizing for everyone who is local,” said Cari Dabrowski, a Rochester Hills resident. “We’re traumatized by it, we weren’t even directly involved, but it’s part of our community and we need to pull together in these times.”
After some GoFundMe pages popped up in connection to the mass shooting, the Oakland County Sheriff's Office is warning people of fundraising scams.
"Some nefarious characters have created phony Go Fund Me pages, purporting to benefit victims of Saturday’s splash pad shooting in Rochester Hills," read the statement from the Oakland County Sheriff's Office.
The Oakland County Sheriff's Office tweeted later that this GoFundMe page has been created by a family friend of a victim and is legitimate.
The Oakland Community Health Network made mental health services available Sunday for victims, their families, and people who were at Brooklands Plaza Splash Pad in Rochester Hills at the time of the shooting.
This story was originally published by Scripps News Detroit.
