A lone gunman got out of his mom’s car and began shooting at families at a Rochester Hills, Michigan, splash pad park on Saturday, injuring nine people, leaving two in critical condition.
The gunman was described by authorities as a white man who lived with his mother. He has no criminal history, and was believed to have had mental health challenges.
Michael William Nash, 42, armed with a 9mm Glock semi-automatic handgun, was as close as 20 feet to some of the victims, which included an 8-year-old boy shot in the head, his 4-year-old brother shot in the leg, their 39-year-old mom with wounds to her abdomen and leg, and six other victims ranging in age from 30 to 78 who were also shot but in stable condition.
Nash reloaded his handgun twice, leaving three bullet magazines at the scene. At least 28 shots were fired. Police were able to identify the shooter by the registration of the gun, also left behind at the scene. Police arrived at his residence in a mobile home park, where the shooter’s car identified by witnesses was also found, only two miles from the shooting scene.
Inside police found an AR platform rifle on the kitchen table, a handgun, and the dead shooter.
Nash had no prior contact with the Oakland County Sheriff’s Department, had no criminal history and is believed to have lived with his mother, who was not home during the incident, Sheriff Mike Bouchard said.
Rochester Hills was named one of the safest cities in the United States by NeighborhoodScout last year and the second-safest city with a population of more than 70,000.
It has been dubbed the safest city in Michigan for the last seven years, according to the town website, and Livability.com ranked Rochester Hills No. 20 on its list of the best places to live.
Nash lived with his mother at the mobile home park, where a neighbor said he normally drove a truck. The mother has been on a vacation around the United States.
Nash’s father, a journeyman machinist, died three years ago at the age of 73 years old, according to a funeral home notice, and loved to “hunt and fish” and “always was helping others.” Michael Nash was listed as one of four children and the wife as Kathryn.
“He’s a loner. The blinds are always pulled over there,” the neighbor said.
Police determined the attack was random, with no known connection to those at the splash park.