Boy preventing for his life after being shot by gunman earlier than standoff
An eight-year-old boy is fighting for his life after being shot in the head by a rampaging gunman at a family splash pad as seven others were also gunned down.
The violent attack took place in Rochester Hills, Michigan, around 5pm Saturday after the shooter fired 28 rounds from a handgun in a seemingly random attack, peppering women and children at the Brooklands Plaza Splash Pad outside Detroit.
The gunman fled the scene to a nearby home within half a mile of the splash pad, leading to a tense hours-long standoff that ended when the shooter – described as a 42-year-old white male who lived with his mother – died by suicide.
At a press conference Saturday evening, Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said the scenes were his ‘worst nightmare’ after previously working on the 2021 Oxford School Shooting.
He said of the eight victims, only the eight-year-old boy was left in critical condition after he was shot in the head, while two of his family members were also shot in the leg, including a four-year-old boy.
The suspect raced into a nearby home, and a tense standoff has ensued with cops cornering the gunman inside the property
Bouchard said at an earlier press conference that the shooting ‘appears very random with no connectivity between the victims.’
The gunman, who has not been named, drove to the splash pad, ‘pulled up, exited a vehicle, approached the splash pad, opened fire, reloaded, opened fire, reloaded. And then left’, Bouchard said.
Police were using a new kind of 911 response system that allows them to listen to 911 calls live instead of waiting for a dispatcher, which allowed one cop to arrive on the scene in under two minutes.
The shooter had already fled by the time police arrived, but Bouchard said quick-acting officers were able to ascertain the suspect’s vehicle.
Police found the vehicle at the property where the gunman had fled, and a heavy law enforcement presence – including SWAT teams and helicopters – quickly encircled the home.
Bouchard said they established early contact with the gunman, but communication ceased and after hours of standoff police decided to breach the home.
Cops sent a drone into the home, where they found the gunman dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Investigators also discovered an assault rifle on the kitchen table of the home, which Bouchard feared would have been used for the ‘next chapter’ of the shooting spree, but the speed at which police surrounded him prevented further chaos.
Investigators also discovered an assault rifle on the kitchen table of the home, which officials feared would have been used for the ‘next chapter’ of the shooting spree before it was thwarted
Aerial images from the scene showed a large number of evidence markers placed around the waterpark, where dozens of bullets were shot in quick succession
Officials said the gunman shot up to 28 rounds of ammunition and reloaded several times when he opened fire
Police said they recovered a 9mm handgun used in the shooting spree, but were not clear whether the gunman had additional weapons during the standoff
An officer with the Oakland County Sheriff’s Department secures the scene of a shooting at the Brooklands Plaza Splash Pad early Saturday evening
Gunshots rang out at the Brooklands Plaza Splash Pad in Rochester Hills on Saturday evening, where up to 10 people were shot in a ‘random’ spree
‘It’s a gut-punch,’ Bouchard said at the earlier press conference. ‘We’re not fully comprehending what happened at Oxford and now we have another complete tragedy that we’re dealing with.’
By the time he fled the scene, the gunman had fired 28 rounds with a 9mm pistol, and three empty magazines were recovered by investigators, Fox 2 Detroit reported.
Aerial images from the scene showed a large number of evidence markers placed around the waterpark, where dozens of bullets were shot in quick succession.
A witness to the standoff told Fox6Now that he was in a home nearby when the situation escalated, and heard police ordering the gunman to exit the property.
Some local residents were seen being cautiously led away from the street as the standoff stretched into the evening.
Corewell Health said in a statement that it was confirming several victims were being treated in its hospital.
Police were locked in a tense hours-long standoff on the residential street
Officials have since cleared the splash pad
The victims include children and adults, with the youngest believed to be just eight-years-old
A heavy police presence quickly descended on the scene, and several streets have been locked down while the gunman remains at large
Police snipers could be seen patrolling the area on the hunt for the shooting suspect
The city-run splash pad faces Auburn Road and is located between a T-Mobile cell phone store and Mozzarella’s, a pizzeria, west of the plaza.
Streets close to the splash pad park were closed by police and emergency personnel Saturday evening.
Michigan Congressman John James said he was downtown at Huntington Place for former President Donald Trump’s address to Turning Point USA when he heard news of the shooting, and raced to the scene to lend support.
‘Under no circumstances in this country, particularly in Rochester Hills, should fathers be spending Father’s Day in a hospital,’ he said.
‘We’re doing everything we possibly can to help the families in need. And (I want to) give a shout-out to first responders who mitigated further damage and who are still in harm’s way to bring resolution to this crisis.’
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer added in a tweet: ‘I am heartbroken to learn about the shooting in Rochester Hills. We are monitoring the situation as updates continue to come in, and are in touch with local officials.’
