An Oakland County Sheriff’s vehicle blocks the Brooklands Plaza Splash Pad in Rochester Hills after police say up to 10 people were injured in a shooting on June 15, 2024 | Anna Liz Nichols
After the mass shooting at the Brooklands Plaza Splash Pad in Rochester Hills over Father’s Day weekend, the community is offering resources to those injured and anyone who is grappling with the pain of another mass shooting in Oakland County.
Around 5 p.m. Saturday, a gunman open fired on the crowded splash pad, injuring nine people, including two children, ages 4 and 8. At least two individuals have been released from the hospital as of Monday.
The gunman was found dead in a home later that day a half mile from the splash pad, law enforcement says, from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
UPDATED: What we know about the mass shooting at Rochester Hills splash pad
And as the community tries to make sense of what law enforcement is calling a “random” act of violence from a man with no connection to the victims or splash pad, with no known motive, community leaders are urging residents to seek out mental health help if they need it.
The shooting will not define the city. How the community responds will define Rochester Hills, city Mayor Brian Barnett said in a message to the city Monday, announcing an online donation fund for the community’s healing.
“Residents near the area ran towards the sound of danger, assisting some of the people most in need. In the next few minutes, over 100 Sheriff’s Department deputies and Rochester Hills firefighters descended on the scene, supported by four departments surrounding us, to begin to offer medical care, and, of course, to begin to process this very chaotic scene,” Barnett said.
Other donation pages have been set up by loved ones for specific victims.
The two children who were shot are brothers and their mother was injured, as well. They boys’ aunt set up a GoFundMe page to support their family through their healing.
As of Monday the 4-year-old boy, who had suffered a wound to the thigh, was in stable condition, but his 8-year-old brother, who was wounded in the head, and his mom, who was wounded in the abdomen and leg, were in critical condition.
Another GoFundMe has been set up for Micayla and Eric Coughlin who were injured in the shooting. The GoFundMe page said the two sustained their injuries protecting their daughters, ages 2 and 7 months after their family arrived at the splash pad seconds before the shooting after getting ice cream nearby.
The Oakland Community Health Network (OCHN) has opened a Family Assistance Center at the Rochester Hills Department of Public Services with counselors available to anyone impacted by the shooting from 4 to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, with no appointment necessary.
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