ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) – Authorities on Sunday identified the man who opened fire at a splash pad in the Detroit suburb of Rochester Hills on Saturday night before killing himself. However, his motives remain unknown as investigators tried to determine if he left any hint of his plans.
Oakland County Sheriff’s spokesman Stephen Huber said the shooter was 42-year-old Michael William Nash of Shelby Township. He died by suicide after a standoff at a home in a nearby community.
Sheriff Michael Bouchard said Saturday evening that the shooter had no prior criminal history but apparently suffered privately from what the sheriff called “mental health issues.”
At least nine people were injured in the shooting, including two children.
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 Road.
“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.”
The nine victims ranged in age from 4 to 78, Bouchard said. An 8-year-old boy and a 39-year-old woman, both from the same family, were in critical condition. The boy suffered a gunshot wound to the head, according to the sheriff’s office.
The rest of the victims were in stable condition with multiple gunshot wounds. At least four area hospitals were treating the victims.
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.
“We very quickly identified who we believed may have been involved based on the evidence at the scene and responded immediately,” Bouchard said in the earlier briefing. “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.
Bouchard explained that officers were able to trace the gun’s registration to the Shelby Township address where the suspect was believed to be living with his mother.
Within an hour of the shooting, authorities had “contained” the house and “established a hard perimeter” using SWAT, helicopters and drones, Bouchard said. The suspect’s mother was not home at the time of the standoff, Bouchard announced.
After the suspect was not contacted, police entered the home and used drones to find the suspect dead inside, Bouchard said. The sheriff also showed reporters a photo of a semiautomatic weapon found on a kitchen table. A second gun was also found in the home. Bouchard said the suspect died of what was believed to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
“I believe that because we got him under control quickly, if he was planning on doing something else, I wouldn’t be surprised because having that on the kitchen table is not an everyday occurrence,” Bouchard said. “That there was probably something else, a second chapter, possible.”
Bouchard said investigators still do not have a motive for the shooting. The suspect “had no criminal history to our knowledge,” and investigators have so far found no connection between the suspect and the location of the shooting.
Jared Schmidt, a resident of Rochester Hills, told CBS News that he was in the area near the splash pad when he noticed “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 earlier 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.
Oakland County Executive Dave Coulter issued a statement Sunday saying the shooting is “another abhorrent display of senseless violence.”
“The Oakland County community stands with the injured and their families, and unfortunately, just as we had to do in Oxford, we will remain with the victims, their families and the community for as long as necessary,” Coulter said. “I am grateful for the quick response of the Oakland County Sheriff’s Department and first responders and for the coordination between our Emergency Operations Center and other responding agencies.”
On Sunday, Bouchard warned that fake GoFundMe pages had been created to benefit victims. The sheriff said one GoFundMe page created claimed to benefit an individual who was not a victim. More than $15,000 had been donated.
“These bottom-feeding bastards are preying on this tragedy,” Bouchard said in a statement. “They have already shown their character. We are not aware of any legitimate charities collecting donations for these families. I encourage anyone interested in making a donation to contact the Sheriff’s Office first. If there are any legitimate sites, we will notify the public.”
A prayer vigil will be held Sunday at Woodside Bible Church in Troy. CBS News Detroit does streaming of the vigil at 5 p.m Woodside’s Troy campus, located at 6600 Rochester Rd., will hold the vigil.
