ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. — The City of Rochester Hills has reopened the Brooklands Splash Pad after last month's mass shooting, where nine people were injured.
As of Wednesday, July 3, one of those victims, a 39-year-old woman, is still hospitalized after she was shot multiple times as she was protecting her children. The other eight people have been released. The victims released, who police have not identified, include:
- 4-year-old boy
- 8-year-old boy
- 30-year-old man
- 31-year-old man
- 37-year-old woman
- 39-year-old woman
- 42-year-old man
- 78-year-old man
The suspect in the June 15 shooting, a 42-year-old from Shelby Township, killed himself after the shooting as police surrounded his home.
"There’s no question the past two-and-a-half weeks have been among the toughest in the history of our City," the city of Rochester Hills said in a Facebook post announcing the reopening. "Our feeling of safety was compromised by a rogue gunman with mental health issues, and the lives of many in our community were forever altered. Through these extremely dark days, light continued to shine. We saw our City come together to pray, to support, to move forward. Eight of the nine victims who were harmed on June 15 have returned home and we are thankful for that. We know their recovery both mentally and physically will be long, and we will continue to stand by their side through it all. One victim is still hospitalized but we continue to get optimistic news about her healing journey and look forward to the day she can return home to her family.
The Brooklands Splash Pad, where tragedy struck, has been fenced off while we navigated the next steps. That fence, unfortunately, is a reminder of what took place there and today it has come down. We said last week that we were going to take steps together on our healing journey. Our first step came at Festival of the Hills when we gathered to smile, to create memories and to honor those victims as well as fallen OCSO Deputy Brad Reckling. The event felt different than it has in the past, but it was the right step to take. Our next step is reopening the Splash Pad and allowing the community - at their own pace - to reclaim what is theirs. Evil will not win here. Not in a place where laughter and squeals of joy abound. There will never be a moment that we do not think about what happened, but as Mayor Barnett has said so many times over the past two weeks…this tragedy will not define us. Our response will. Friends, this community’s response has been nothing short of amazing. You all are amazing."
The Splash Pad is open from 10 a.m.-8 p.m., seven days a week. The city says additional police will be present in the area, along with informational signage about mental health resources available through the Oakland Community Health Network.
Related:
- Here are the GoFundMe pages verified by officials after Rochester Hills splash pad shooting
- 'There are things to do': Prosecutor discusses Rochester Hills splash pad shooting
- Witness to splash pad shooting says she saw people on ground, acts of bravery
- Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard speaks with 7 News Detroit in wake of recent violent incidents
