ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) – At least eight people were injured when a gunman opened fire at a splash pad in the Detroit suburb of Rochester Hills on Saturday evening, authorities said. The suspect was later found dead by suicide following a standoff at a home in a nearby neighborhood.
Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said in a news briefing that the male suspect pulled into a car just after 5 p.m. local time, got out and opened fire at the Brooklands Plaza Splash Pad, located at 1585 E. Auburn Rd.
“It appears the individual stopped, exited a vehicle, approached the splash pad, opened fire, reloaded, opened fire, reloaded, took off,” Bouchard said. “It seems very random at this point… No connection to the victims.”
Bouchard initially reported that nine to 10 people had been shot, but Rochester police later reported that there were eight gunshot victims.
Bouchard said at least one child, an 8-year-old, was in critical condition. At least four area hospitals were treating victims “with various types of injuries,” Bouchard said. At least one of the patients underwent surgery.
Rochester police said in a statement late Saturday that “no fatalities have been reported” to date.
After fleeing the shooting, it was discovered that the suspect, whose name has not been released, had gone to a home within a half-mile of the splash pad, Bouchard said. Authorities surrounded the barricaded home in Shelby Township and a standoff ensued.
Just after 10 p.m., both Rochester police and the sheriff’s office reported that the suspect was found dead by suicide inside the home.
“We very quickly identified who we thought may have been involved based on the evidence at the scene and responded immediately,” Bouchard said. “There was a vehicle there that matched what was described as a vehicle leaving the scene. So we established a quick perimeter. And officers on scene apparently heard or saw the person they were trying to communicate with.”
During the shooting, the gunman may have fired 28 times and reloaded several times, Bouchard said. A 9mm Glock semi-automatic pistol was recovered at the scene, along with three empty magazines.
Jared Schmidt, a resident of Rochester Hills, told CBS News that he was in the area when he saw “lots of cars screeching, tires, people racing through the neighborhood and a woman yelling that there was an active shooter.”
Schmidt said he jumped in his car and drove to the splash pad, where he says he found “a lot of blood,” and began administering first aid to the victims, using tourniquets and pressure bandages. He said a friend of his was among the injured.
“I know these people,” Schmidt said. “This is my neighborhood… These are family members… This is terrible.”
Bouchard says as much in his comments referred to the 2021 mass shooting at Oxford High School in the nearby city of Oxford, in which a teenage gunman killed four fellow students.
“It’s obviously a blow to us here in Oakland County. We have experienced so many tragedies,” Bouchard said. “We don’t even fully understand what happened in Oxford, and now we are dealing with another complete tragedy.”
In a statement on social media, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said she was “heartbroken to hear about the shooting in Rochester Hills. We are monitoring the situation as updates continue to come in and are in contact with local officials.”
The city of Rochester Hills is located approximately 25 miles north of Detroit.
