Rochester Hills splash pad shooting: Motive still unclear after 9 wounded
ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. (FOX 2) - A motive is still unclear after a 42-year-old man opened fire at a Rochester Hills splash pad over the weekend, wounding numerous people, including children.
Authorities say Michael William Nash pulled up to the Brooklands Splash Pad and started shooting just after 5 p.m. Saturday. He fired about 28 shots at people enjoying the splash pad, hitting nine victims ranging in age from 4 to 78.
Two of the victims, a mother and her 8-year-old son, are both in critical condition. The mother's 4-year-old son was also shot and is listed as stable. The other victims are also listed as stable as well.
Victim conditions:
- 8-year-old boy - critical
- 39-year-old woman - critical
- 4-year-old boy - stable
- 39-year-old woman - stable
- 30-year-old man - stable
- 37-year-old man stable
- 40-year-old man - stable
- 78-year-old man - stable
- No info on 9th victim
"My focus is on that family, and specifically an 8-year-old boy that I've never met that I hope to hug someday and get on a playground in Rochester Hills with him some time soon," said Rochester Hills Mayor Bryan Barnett.
'Immense sadness': Rochester Hills mayor reacts to splash pad shooting
Rochester Hills Mayor Bryan Barnett reacted to a shooting at a splash pad that left nine people wounded over the weekend, saying that people are sad and angry. Barnett said it's something that he ever thought would happen to his community.
The shooter then left and went to a Shelby Township mobile home where he lived with his mother. He died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Investigators used evidence from the scene, including the gun used and witness descriptions of the shooter's vehicle, to track him to that home.
The self-inflicted gunshot wound happened at some point during the standoff because deputies, although they did not have back-and-forth communication after arriving outside the home, had seen and or heard him inside.
How deputies tracked the Rochester Hills splash pad shooter
The man's mother was not home, but she was contacted and notified Saturday night.
"It was very scary because we know who lives next door to us," said neighbor Kyleen Duchene-McDougall, who was home when authorities showed up looking for the shooter, her next door neighbor. "Quiet, kept to himself. I just waved to him the other day."
Investigators say the shooting appears random, though it isn't clear why the shooter targeted the splash pad. The shooter has no criminal history, but may have suffered from mental health issues, Sheriff Mike Bouchard said.