Nine people were shot late Saturday afternoon at a splash pad in Rochester Hills in what police say appears to be a random event.
Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said the suspect was dead of a likely self-inflicted gunshot wound in the Dequindre Estates neighborhood in Shelby Township.
He said the suspect was a 42-year-old man who lived at the home with his mother, who was not home but has been notified.
The sheriff said the two most serious injuries included an eight-year-old boy shot in the head and a 39-year-old woman shot in the abdomen and leg. Both were in critical condition. Also, a 4-year-old boy was shot in the thigh and was in stable condition. These three victims are in the same family.
Bouchard also provided initial details on the identification of the suspect, the efforts to contain him, and their entrance into the home and confirmation of his death.
The sheriff praised the efforts and quick-thinking of responding deputies and the new tools available to law enforcement now, which he said could have prevented a second “chapter” of the potential bloodshed following the initial mass shooting at the Auburn Road splash pad in the southeastern part of Rochester Hills. The gunman had pulled up in a car, walked to the nearby steps, and fired at least 28 shots, reloading a .9-mm Glock, which was dropped and left behind with three empty magazines.
To highlight this, he displayed a photograph showing an AR-style weapon the kitchen table of the suspect’s home.
“Having that on the kitchen table is not an everyday activity,” Bouchard said.
First, he explained the immediate response, in which a sergeant heard a report on a new scanner app they use, Live 9-1-1, that provided details just as the call came in shortly after 5 p.m. Saturday and before dispatchers had sent out the call. The sergeant arrived at the scene in two minutes and started the police response, which led to a massive police presence at multiple locations.
Next, Bouchard said “intelligence work” at the scene in the minutes after the shooting, with the gunman having driven away from the scene. Investigators quickly had a potential address after checking the firearm.
“We didn’t have a license plate; we had a description” of the car, Bouchard said. Within 45 minutes to an hour, “we had containment in the home.”
While they did not speak to the suspect, deputies had seen or heard him and put up a hard perimeter around the home.
“We tried to bring that person our peacefully,” Bouchard said.
Besides SWAT officers and a helicopter, deputies also used drones, and they eventually breached the structure and used a drone inside to search for the suspect, finding him dead and finding the rifle on the table.
“We don’t know what the next chapter was going to be,” Bouchard said of the potential for continued violence. He said the home was still being secured and processed, and they did not immediately know of other weapons, besides the second handgun believed to be used in the suspect’s gunshot wound.
He said the shooting of the families at the splash pad appeared random with no known connection to the location or the victims. Further, the sheriff said the suspect had had some “mental health challenges.”
U.S. Rep. John James, who represents a large portion of Macomb County as well as Rochester and Rochester Hills in Oakland County and was at a function, was on hand with Bouchard and Rochester Hills Mayor Bryan Barnett said Father’s Day should not include worrying about gun violence.
“This is an American epidemic that we need to fix,” James said. “Gun violence needs to stop.”
EARLIER
Bouchard had earlier provided a preliminary report of what occurred along Auburn Road in the southeastern part of the city. At the time, he said the information was very fluid and preliminary as detectives were at different hospitals finding out about victims. During a late night press conference, he updated the injury count from eight to nine, noting some had driven themselves to hospitals and it took time to confirm details.
It was at 5:11 p.m. Saturday, June 15, when a sheriff’s sergeant heard an initial report of a shooting over a scanner app — called Live 9-1-1 — and responded immediately
Bouchard, in his 7:30 p.m. press conference, said investigators were starting to compile the full impact of what happened, saying the number of victims, their ages, and their conditions were being ascertained. Detectives and victim impact advocates were talking to people at four area hospitals.
“One of the individuals shot is 8 (years old),” Bouchard said.
Meanwhile, deputies and police officers were at a home where they believe the suspect lives, trying to talk to him.
“We believe we have an individual who is a suspect contained nearby,” Bouchard said. “We have the house surrounded. We’re trying to talk to that person without response.”
Later, the sheriff’s office said the suspect was contained at a home nearby in neighboring Shelby Township.
Their initial information is that the suspect pulled a vehicle up to the area and started firing a 9-mm Glock semi-automatic handgun into the splash pad area.
Deputies recovered the discarded gun along with three empty magazines.
“It looks like the suspect fired potentially 28 times, reloading multiple times,” Bouchard said. “It appears the individual pulled up, exited the vehicle, approached the splash pad, opened fire, reloaded, opened fire,” Bouchard said. “It appears random, no connectivity to the victims.”
The shooter was about 20 feet from the area where the victims were.
“It appears to be an active random shooting,” Bouchard said.
This was the second mass shooting to occur in Oakland County on Saturday, as police in Lathrup Village reported six people were injured just after midnight in a shooting at what some reports said was a house party.
Fifteen hours later a massive police presence with many Oakland County Sheriff’s Office units was along Auburn Road between Dequindre and John R roads, an area in recent years that saw an upgrade in streetscape, which included the splash pad and a scenic pedestrian area. Nearby is an eatery, the Brain Freeze, which sells soft-serve ice cream, hot dogs and other treats, part of the walkable appeal to the area.
The area is next to one of Rochester Hills’ middle schools, and within a mile or so are two of the city’s parks — Spencer Park and Borden Park, both along John R Road — and the Holy Family Regional School. Just over one week ago, classes at Rochester Community Schools ended for the school year, and just one day earlier, Rochester Adams’ girls soccer claimed the state Division 1 title.
“It’s a gut punch obviously for us here in Oakland County,” Bouchard said when asked about yet another mass shooting. “We’ve gone though so many tragedies. We’ve not fully yet comprehended what happened in Oxford (and the high school shooting).”
The city’s mayor asked people to avoid the area, especially as police units worked to capture the gunman and as the large police response closed Dequindre Road later after nightfall fell.
“It’s heartbreaking,” Rochester Hills Mayor Bryan Barnett said to reporters. “I appreciate the immediate response of the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office. I can’t imagine what it’s like to arrive on a scene like this.
“Certainly, complete thoughts are with the families right now. This is a great community, and it’s heartbreaking to see this happen here.”
Many reports on social media initially identified Spencer Park as the scene of the shooting, though updates indicated the shooting was at the splash pad and the park may have been searched for the shooter.
Some people had been asked to shelter in place at some locations.
“The shelter in place has been lifted,” the city of Rochester Hills posted on Facebook at 8:45 p.m. “We are still asking people to avoid the area of Auburn between Dequindre and Culbertson.”
Rochester Adams beats Hartland 2-0 for third state title in program history
Motorcyclist killed, child injured in northern Oakland County crash