At least 9 people, including 2 children, were shot at a Michigan recreation center before the suspect was found dead, police said

A suspect in the shooting that injured at least eight people at a recreation area in Rochester Hills, Michigan, on Saturday was found dead in a nearby home, Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said.

The suspect, a 42-year-old man whose name has not yet been released, was found in the home where he lived with his mother after police tracked the gun from the crime scene to the address about a half-mile from the crime scene, the sheriff said at a news conference Saturday evening.

“Not even in my worst nightmares could I imagine standing up here talking about another shooting,” Bouchard said at a press conference on Saturday evening.

It appears the suspect drove to the Brooklands Plaza Splash Pad recreation area in Rochester Hills, got out of a vehicle and opened fire about 20 feet away, reloading multiple times, Bouchard said. The suspect fired “possibly 28 times,” the sheriff said.

The incident appears to have been random and authorities have not yet determined a motive for the attack, he added.

At least two of the victims were children, authorities said. One of the victims, an 8-year-old boy, suffered a gunshot wound to the head and was in critical condition, Bouchard said. A 4-year-old had a wound to his thigh and was in stable condition, he said. Her 39-year-old mother, with wounds to her stomach and leg, was also in critical condition.

Six other gunshot victims, including three women and three men between the ages of 30 and 78, are in stable condition.

Rochester Hills is located about 27 miles north of Detroit.

Authorities initially released conflicting numbers on the number of people shot as hospitals began reporting gunshot victims for treatment. The sheriff later confirmed that at least nine people had been shot, including the mother and her two sons, as well as a husband and wife.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer said in a statement on X that she was in contact with local authorities following the shooting.

“I am deeply saddened to learn of the shooting in Rochester Hills,” she wrote. “We are monitoring the situation as updates continue to come in and are in contact with local authorities.”

“This is a great community and it’s heartbreaking to see something like this happen here,” said Rochester Hills Mayor Bryan Barnett.

Weapon found on site leads authorities to nearby house

The first 911 call alerting police to the incident came in around 5:11 p.m. Bouchard said a Rochester Hills sergeant listened to new technology that securely livestreams 911 calls directly to first responders and was on the scene within two minutes before the 911 call was relayed.

The suspect had already left the scene and authorities found a pistol and three empty magazines at the scene.

“The one gun at the scene led us to the address registered to that address, which is why we got to the house so quickly,” Bouchard said Saturday night.

After police attempted to make contact with the suspect, they “entered the home and deployed drones to begin investigating the home” and were able to locate the deceased suspect, the sheriff said.

“We brought resources including our SWAT team, our helicopter and our drones and tried to make contact with the person and get him out peacefully. However, it was in vain. We received no contact back,” Bouchard said at a press conference on Saturday evening.

A drone that flew into the house surrounded by police also found what looked like a firearm on an “AR platform” on the kitchen table, Bouchard said Saturday night.

While officers surrounded the house, the sheriff urged those sheltering in the parks to go home and asked them to stay away from the area if they were sheltering nearby.

The suspect was unknown to authorities until they conducted a “quick investigation” and used evidence from the scene to determine who they believed was involved in the incident.

“A vehicle matching the vehicle that left the scene was there,” the sheriff said. “We quickly established a perimeter and officers on scene apparently heard or saw the person they were trying to communicate with.”

Investigators believe there may be other weapons in the house, but Bouchard said it is unclear whether the suspect had access to them.

The sheriff called the incident a “punch in the gut” and stressed that the community is still reeling from the aftermath of the 2021 shooting at a high school in Oxford, 15 miles north of Rochester Hills, in which four students were killed.

“We don’t even fully understand what happened in Oxford and now we are faced with another tragedy,” he said.

CNN has reached out to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office for more information.

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