Additional Coverage:
- Couple shot seven times while shielding daughters as gunman opened fire at Michigan splash pad (newsbreak.com)
A couple from Michigan was struck by gunfire seven times while protecting their daughters during a shooting at Brooklands Plaza Splash Pad in Rochester Hills on Saturday. Micayla and Eric Coughlin, along with their two young daughters, aged two and seven months, had barely arrived at the splash pad when Michael William Nash, 42, from Shelby Township, started shooting at people there.
According to a GoFundMe page set up for the Coughlins by a family friend, Noel Wakul, the family was getting ice cream when they suddenly heard gunfire. They immediately grabbed their children and attempted to flee from the assailant, during which both parents were hit multiple times. Following this harrowing incident, they were admitted to the hospital.
Wakul praised the Coughlins for their brave actions, which ensured their children’s safety, allowing them to return home that day. However, he also noted that Micayla and Eric are now facing a challenging recovery from this horrific event.
The Coughlins were among nine individuals wounded in the attack. Among the other victims were an 8-year-old boy critically injured with a head wound, a 4-year-old boy in stable condition with a thigh injury, and a 39-year-old woman critically wounded in the abdomen and leg.
Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard characterized the attack as “very random” and “bizarre,” noting that there seemed to be no connection between Nash and the victims. He reported that the police arrived within two minutes of receiving reports of the shooting.
By that time, Nash had retreated to a home in Shelby Township. At the scene, authorities recovered a 9mm Glock and three magazines.
Nash was later found deceased from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the home, where a semi-automatic rifle was also found, suggesting possible further intentions for violence.
This tragedy was one of three mass shootings in metro Detroit on the same Saturday. Earlier, six individuals were shot at a house party in Lathrup Village, with two critically injured. Later, in Detroit, a woman was killed, and four others were injured in a separate shooting incident, with young adults and teenagers as the primary victims.
Oakland County Executive Dave Coulter and Rochester Hills Mayor Bryan Barnett both expressed their despair, describing the events as a “nightmare.”
In the aftermath, Shelby Township residents expressed shock, highlighting the area’s usual sense of safety and the distress caused by such violence occurring so close to home.