A memorial at the Auburn Road Splash Pad in Rochester Hills where nine people were injured in a random shooting. (Peg McNicol/Media News Group)
Two survivors of the nine people injured in Saturday’s shooting at Brooklands Plaza Splash Pad were released from the hospital Monday.
The 37-year-old woman and 77-year-old man were released Monday morning. The 39-year-old woman was shot in the forearm and back and was expected to be released later Monday, Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said. Two remained in critical condition. He said only that the condition of the other four victims remained stable. The shooting was one of at least four mass shootings in the United States on Saturday and early Sunday.
Bouchard visited the 8-year-old boy who was shot in the head and said the boy seemed to be on his way back despite “a lot of challenges ahead of him,” and that the boy’s father “to say he’s distraught would be an understatement” as the boy’s wife and 4-year-old son remain hospitalized with injuries.
Rochester Hills Mayor Brian K. Barnett has served as mayor for 18 years. He said nothing like Saturday’s shooting has happened in the city’s 40-year history, or when the area was part of Avon Township. The mayor attended two vigils for survivors of the shooting Sunday night, and wore a ribbon in the city’s colors of pale blue and yellow pinned to his lapel along with a Rochester Hills pin badge during the news conference. The city has set up a fundraiser for those injured. The sheriff’s office has used its Facebook page to share a link to a verified GoFundMe account.
Bouchard said it remains unclear why suspect Michael William Nash, 42, of Shelby Township, fired as many as 36 shots into the crowd at the splash pad, stopping multiple times to reload.
Bouchard said the man then abandoned the 9mm Glock 43 semi-automatic handgun and fled to his home, where he killed himself with a Glock 19 semi-automatic handgun that police believe he took to the scene but did not use.
Bouchard said the gun used at the splash pad belonged to Nash and was purchased legally in 2015. He said the shooter had little experience with police other than a traffic ticket in 2016.
The splash pad remains closed indefinitely and the fence around the scene was covered in green cloth as of Monday afternoon. Police found additional shell casings at the scene, two additional magazines of the same brand, and a third six-round magazine.
Bouchard said his office expects to turn the site over to the city relatively soon.
Police searched the shooter’s phone but found no evidence of a motive, Bouchard said, adding that police also seized a tablet, a MacBook Pro laptop, two PC towers, four USB sticks and two external hard drives and are still investigating.
Police interviewed the shooter’s mother, Bouchard said, who described her son roaming the house, sometimes carrying a firearm, fearing the government was tracking him and saying things like “turn off your phone,” Bouchard said.
The only family member police have interviewed is the suspect’s mother, and she has since hired a lawyer, but added that it is currently difficult to get information from her.
“From my layman’s perspective, it appears he had mental issues, but as of now, there is no information that this has been brought to anyone’s attention,” he said, adding that more people need to speak up about their own and others’ mental issues.
“If you go all the way back to Columbine, someone saw something, but it wasn’t shared robustly. Someone heard something. Someone knows something and is in a position to see it, almost always, but it’s not shared in the full circle, including public safety and mental health professionals. That’s how we get ahead of things.”
This marks the third mass shooting since Oxford for sheriff’s deputies who were called in Saturday, including responding to a 2023 shooting at Michigan State University that left three students dead and five more injured, and a shooting last week in LaSap Village that left six people injured. Bouchard said sheriff’s deputies have a peer-to-peer support officer on staff, but a consultant will be flying in on Monday to provide reporting support.
“We respond to mental health calls almost daily,” he said, adding that they are dispatched at least once a week to find people about to commit suicide. “We need more focus on community mental health, more resources and a broader continuum of care, both inpatient and outpatient. We don’t have that. Our mental health community is struggling, and as a result, our community is struggling.”
Federal and state authorities can help by sending more mental health support to the sheriff’s office as well as the community, he said.
The Sheriff’s Office has partnered with Oakland County Community Health and Common Ground to post a wide range of mental health resources for the public.
“We encourage people to reach out for help…help is available, you should ask for help, people want to help,” he said.
Police found 11 guns in the suspect’s home: a Glock 19, a Sears 30-30 caliber rifle, a Mossberg 410 gauge bolt-action shotgun, a Spikes Tactical AR Model 223 caliber rifle, a Browning lever-action 22 caliber rifle, a Marlin bolt-action 22 caliber rifle, a Remington 243 caliber bolt-action rifle, a Winchester 12 gauge pump-action shotgun, a Mossberg 22 caliber bolt-action, a Western Field 410 gauge pump-action shotgun, and a 22 caliber Rough Rider single-shot pistol.
The city’s annual Hills Festival will be held next week, Burnett said, adding that city officials are working with the sheriff’s office to coordinate security.
“We fully want the festivities to continue. It may look a little different in terms of coverage and support, but like I said before, I think this speaks to what we value as a community. We value coming together and celebrating. We value community spaces, parks, being outdoors. We’re not going to give that up to anyone for some random event.”
“I don’t think this incident will define our community. I think our response will,” Barnett said, adding that more than 70 mayors from around the country have reached out since Saturday to offer support and advice.
Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said Monday that all parents should be thinking about how they can prevent this kind of violence. She urged people to take evidence-based action and use tools to prevent gun violence, such as the online action protocols at AllofUsCan.org.
9 injured, 2 critically injured in ‘random’ shooting at splash pad, suspect dies at Shelby County home
Splash pad shooter described as a ‘lonely man’ by neighbours
It’s hot: Check out this list of Oakland County cooling centers
