ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. – Nine people were injured, including two children, when a man opened fire at a splash pad in Oakland County on Saturday.
When did the shooting happen?
The shooting happened just after 5 p.m. on Saturday, June 15.
Where did the shooting happen?
The shooting happened at the Brooklands Plaza Splash Pad at 1585 E. Auburn Road in Rochester Hills.
What do we know about the shooting?
Police said the shooter drove to the splash pad, parked, and started firing once he was out of his car from the base of the steps that lead to the splash pad. He walked up the steps, reloaded, and continued shooting from the top of the steps in the splash pad area.
He fired 28 shots randomly into the crowded splash pad, according to police. He reloaded multiple times and is believed to have been firing with two handguns.
Some victims were shot while trying to run from the scene. The shooter fled the scene before police arrived.
What do we know about the police response?
A Oakland County sergeant arrived to the scene within minutes of the shooting being called into 911. The department uses Live 911, which allows deputies on the road to hear calls as they come into 911 before they are even dispatched out to officers.
The sergeant heard the call over the radio and sped to the splash pad, where he was there within two minutes and began helping victims by applying tourniquets and offering support.
Who are the victims?
Micayla and Eric Coughlin from Rochester Hills had only just arrived to the splash pad with their two daughters when they heard gunfire, according to a GoFundMe page set up by a friend of the family. The each grabbed a child to protect them. The children were uninjured but the couple was shot a total of 7 times.
According to the sheriff’s office, in total, nine people were shot. Officials said a 39-year-old woman and her two sons were shot. The woman was in critical condition, her 8-year-old son was in critical condition, and her 4-year-old son was in stable condition.
The other victims include a 30-year-old woman, 30-year-old man, 37-year-old woman, 39-year-old woman, 40-year-old man, and a 78-year-old man.
What do we know about the shooter?
The shooter has been identified as Michael William Nash, 42, from Shelby Township.
Police recovered a 9mm handgun at the splash pad, which was registered to the shooter. They located him at a mobile home park in Shelby Township where he killed himself hours after the shooting. Police said they believed the shooter lived with his mother, who was not home at the time.
What have we learned about the investigation?
Police are still investigating why the man decided to open fire on random strangers. They have not located a note, manifesto, or other evidence that offers an explanation. The investigation will include putting together a timeline of what he did leading up to and after the shooting.
A rifle was discovered in the home where the shooter was found dead. Oakland County sheriff Michael Bouchard said, “Because we had quick containment on him, that if he had planned to do anything else -- and it wouldn’t surprise me because having that on the kitchen table is not an everyday activity -- that there was probably something else, a second chapter potentially.”
Bouchard said police had no previous contact with the shooter and he did not have a criminal record. Bouchard said family has indicated that the shooter may have been experiencing some “mental health challenges.”
“We have some information that obviously we’re gonna run down that came from family that said he had been struggling recently and had been walking about the house with a gun and had some paranoid thoughts. We haven’t fleshed that out yet and that’s obviously something that is gonna be part of this investigation but we’d also encourage people, look, if someone is struggling with very severe mental health challenge and they have weapons in their hand that’s a good time to loop in mental health professionals and certainly public safety. We really need to be in front of so many of these tragedies rather than hear about it after. Almost every one of these things I’ve analyzed, and I’ve analyzed active shooters going back 25 years, have a very clear component that if somebody shared information it could have been interrupted,” Bouchard said.
In February of this year, Michigan enacted new gun laws that included an Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) law. The ERPO law allows the courts to temporarily prevent people deemed a risk to themselves or others from having or buying firearms.
A spouse, former spouse, partner, former partner, family member, roommate, guardian, law enforcement officer, or healthcare provider can petition the court to have a person’s firearms temporarily removed if they are deemed to be a risk.
---> More: Michigan’s red flag gun laws: What to do if you believe someone is a danger to themselves or others
Resources available for residents
The Rochester Hills Department of Public Services building will now serve as a Family Assistance Center. Anyone who feels they need help is encouraged to speak with someone. You do not need an appointment to access resources at the Family Assistance Center. Therapists will be available Monday through Friday from 4 p.m. until 8 p.m. at 511 E Auburn Road.
If you are unable to make it out to the Family Assistance Center, you can contact the nurse on call at 800-848-5533. They are available Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m.