According to the New York Post:
A couple who brought their infant and toddler to a Michigan splash pad — and protected them when a deranged gunman opened fire — were among nine shooting victims at the summer attraction Saturday, loved ones confirmed.
Micayla and Eric Coughlin were both wounded protecting their 2-year-old and 7-month-old daughters when shots rang out inside the Brooklands Plaza Splash Pad near their home at around 5 p.m.
The husband and wife, who live in Rochester, were shot a combined seven times during the horrifying scene, a family friend said in a GoFundMe post.
“Shortly after grabbing ice cream they walked to the splash pad and were not even there for a minute when Micayla and Eric heard gunfire,” the post states. “In an effort to save their children, they each grabbed a child to protect them.”
The two are undergoing treatment after they were rushed to a hospital.
“Because of their heroic actions, their children were protected and able to go home that evening,” the family friend said on the GoFundMe page. “Micayla and Eric face a long and unknown recovery from this unthinkable tragedy.”
The Detroit News stated that nine people were shot at a splash pad in Rochester Hills around 5:11 p.m. Saturday after a gunman got out of a vehicle and unloaded 28 gunshots from a handgun in a “random” act at the streetside park, Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said.
One of the shooting victims is an eight-year-old boy who was shot in the head and is in critical condition. A relative of that boy, a 4-year-old boy, was shot in the thigh but is considered stable, Bouchard said.
Sheriff’s deputies later found the 42-year-old White male suspect dead Saturday night at a home in Shelby Township after police breached the home with a drone, Bouchard said.
The alleged shooter might have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound as police were surrounding the home, the sheriff said. Officers on site did not hear the gunshot.
The gun was registered in Nash’s name, and police were able to use it to track him down to a home nearby. After the suspect died, authorities searched his property and found numerous other weapons, including a semi-automatic rifle on the kitchen table.
“If he had planned to do anything else, that wouldn’t surprise me because having that on the kitchen table is not an everyday activist,” Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said. “There was probably something else, a second chapter, potentially.”
“Yesterday’s horrific shooting of nine people, including two young boys … is just another appalling example of senseless violence,” Oakland County Executive Dave Coulter said. “We’re all too good at this and I’m disgusted by it.”
Other victims were all 30 or older, including a 78-year-old man, WXYZ reported. They were all in stable condition.
Rochester Hills Mayor Bryan Barnett said one of the victims is the wife of a city worker and she was there with 14 family and friends, the Detroit News reported.
“[When I talked to her husband,] he was in shock, but he was grateful his family was OK and is focused on supporting them,” Barnett said, according to the outlet.
“It is a mental reset. It is a reminder that we live in a fragile place with fragile people,” Barnett said. “And it is also a reminder to be grateful for professionals. There were a hundred firefighters and sheriff’s deputies out there today.”
Republican State Sen. Michael Webber, who represents and lives in Rochester Hills, said he was heartbroken by the “horrific shooting.”
“I am praying for the victims and their families,” Webber said in a late Saturday statement. “I want to extend my deepest gratitude to our first responders, including the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, the Rochester Police Department and nearby paramedics who responded quickly. The Greater Rochester Area will remain a strong community, and we will support each other during this tragic time.”
In the wake of this tragedy, Micayla and Eric Coughlin have become symbols of bravery and parental love, their actions a stark reminder of the lengths to which parents will go to protect their children. As they heal, both physically and emotionally, they carry with them the gratitude and admiration of a community that will not soon forget their sacrifice.
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