Nine people, including two children, injured in apparently random shooting at Michigan wading pool

Nine people, including two children, were injured Saturday in an apparently random shooting at a Michigan city park, authorities said.

One of the victims, an 8-year-old boy, was struck in the head and hospitalized in critical condition, Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said at a news conference.

The other child struck by gunfire was described as a 4-year-old boy shot in the thigh and stabilized at a hospital, he said.

A third victim, a 39-year-old woman suffering from abdominal and leg injuries, was described as being in critical condition at the hospital, the sheriff said. The three most seriously injured victims are related, Bouchard said.

The other victims, aged 30 to 78, are said to be in stable condition, he said. One group of victims is the husband and wife, the sheriff said. One of the victims is a city employee, he said.

A suspect committed suicide at a home in neighboring Shelby Township, he said. The man's identity was not available.

The Oakland County Sheriff's Office said that shortly after 5 p.m., the shooter drove up to the Brooklands Plaza Splash Pad, got out of his vehicle and opened fire, apparently indiscriminately.

A sergeant monitoring 911 calls coming into the county via new technology heard the 5:11 p.m. report and rushed to the scene, arriving within 2 minutes, Bouchard said.

The shooter was gone, but the sergeant was able to organize a quick medical response, he said.

The suspect used a semi-automatic handgun, appeared to reload at least twice and fired approximately 28 rounds, Bouchard said.

The man had no known connection to the victims.

Officers quickly obtained information about a possible suspect's address by examining a handgun at the scene, Bouchard said. Deputies went to the front of the Shelby Township home and were joined by a SWAT team, Bouchard said.

After some time with no communication from the suspect, law enforcement entered the home and used drones to fly over it and determine if there was still a threat, he said.

They located the man dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Bouchard said. Nearby, he said, pointing to an image of a semiautomatic rifle on a screen, “it was on the table.”

He said it was possible the suspect had two handguns near the splash zone, but that semi-automatic rifle was not noticed by witnesses.

The man may have had “mental health issues,” he said after speaking to a relative.

It was 75 degrees the day before Father's Day, and the splash pad had been closed for maintenance for a few days recently, according to the city's website.

“There were a lot of people,” Bouchard said.

Rochester Hills Mayor Bryan K. Barnett said it was a particularly distressing attack for the 1920s suburb, located about 30 miles north of Detroit.

“It’s a horrible scene when a child is involved,” he said.