A community in Rochester Hills, Michigan, is reeling after an armed gunman opened fire on a local splash pad on Saturday, June 15. According to police, the shooting was "random," but that doesn't make the whole experience any less terrifying. At least nine people were shot and injured during the incident, with several listed in critical condition.
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Police identified the shooter as Michael William Nash. After leaving the home he shared with his mother, he drove to the Brooklands Plaza Splash Pad, got out of the vehicle he was driving, and began shooting from about 20 feet away. According to Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard, Nash reloaded his gun multiple times and fired his gun "potentially 28 times."
"Under no circumstances is it normal for ice cream cones and flip-flops to be strewn amongst blood and bullet casings," Michigan Rep. John James said during a news conference reported by CNN.
The victims of the shooting were taken to four local hospitals with "varying kinds of injuries," Sheriff Bouchard explained. Victims include an 8-year-old boy who was listed in critical condition after a gunshot wound to the head, his 4-year-old brother who was shot in the thigh, and their mother, who is also listed in critical condition after sustaining wounds to the leg and abdomen.
Six other gunshot victims, three women and three men between the ages of 30 and 78, were listed as stable.
"When I got on scene, I started to cry," Rochester Hills Mayor Bryan Barnett said on Saturday night. "Because I know what a splash pad is supposed to be. It’s supposed to be a place where people gather, where families make memories, where people have fun and enjoy a Saturday afternoon, and it wasn’t today."
Cheryl Delcotto was in the area when the shooting began and told CNN what it felt like to witness the incident.
"We were sitting out on the patio and we heard what we thought was firecrackers and I guess it was gunshots because we heard people screaming, like, ‘Help us, help us!’" she explained. "So, we ran around, I called 911, I couldn’t get a hold of anybody because I guess people were already calling."
Delcotto added, "I see people laying on the ground, I seen a guy who was shot in the stomach who was sitting on a chair, an older man," adding that she saw a man whose "son was coming out on a stretcher – with blood all over his face, and it was scary."
Following the shooting, police were able to trace the weapon found at the scene back to a nearby home. Once there, they found a vehicle that matched the description of the one seen at the shooting. The police made attempts to contact the subject, but eventually got inside the home, where they found a firearm alongside the deceased subject.
"It’s gonna be one of those challenges to try to figure out why there appears to be no connection between the victims and the location whatsoever. A person doesn’t live in Rochester Hills. He went to a Rochester Hills Park," Bouchard explained. The investigation is ongoing.
