Eight-year-old child among at least nine shot at US recreation centre, police say

At least nine people were shot at a recreation area in Rochester Hills in the US state of Michigan, and a suspect is contained at a home surrounded by officers near the crime scene, police said.

Nine, “maybe 10” victims were injured in the shooting at Brooklands Plaza Splash Pad in Rochester Hills and transported to multiple hospitals with “varying kinds of injuries,” Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said during an evening news conference on Saturday (local time).

The sheriff did not have further details on the extent of the injuries but said he knew at least one person was out of surgery and “did well.”

Rochester Hills is about 43 kilometres north of Detroit.

One of the victims was eight years old, said Bouchard, who added he could not comment on the age of the other victims.

The sheriff stressed the information is preliminary and the incident is changing “by the second.”

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

The first 911 call alerting police to the incident was made around 5.11pm (local time) Bouchard said a Rochester Hills sergeant was listening to a new technology that securely livestreams 911 calls directly to first responders and responded to the scene within two minutes, before the call was dispatched.

Authorities located a handgun and three empty magazines at the scene.

Bouchard said it appears the suspect pulled up to the recreation area, exited a vehicle and opened fire roughly six metres away, reloading multiple times.

The suspect fired “potentially 28 times,” the sheriff said.

The incident appears to be random and authorities have yet to determine a motivation for the attack, he added.

An individual who police believe to be the suspect is contained at a house within a half mile from the crime scene, which is surrounded by officers, the sheriff said.

Authorities are bringing in additional assets, including SWAT teams and armored vehicles to assist officers at the scene, Bouchard said.

“We are trying to talk to that person without response but we, again, believe he is contained there,” he said.

“… We are in the process of getting a search warrant for that address.”

The sheriff advised those sheltering in the parks to go home and asked people to stay away from the area if they are sheltering at a nearby location.

The suspect was not known to authorities until they did a “quick investigation” and determined who they believed was involved based on evidence from the crime scene.

“A vehicle that matched what had been described as a vehicle leaving the scene was there,” the sheriff said.

“We put up a quick perimetre and deputies on scene apparently heard or saw the individual they are trying to communicate with.”

Investigators believe there are potentially more weapons in the home but it is unclear if the suspect has access to them, according to Bouchard.

The sheriff called the incident a “gut punch,” and stressed the community is still reeling from the 2021 shooting at a high school in Oxford, located 24 kilometres north of Rochester Hills, when four students were killed.

“We’re not even fully comprehending what happened at Oxford, and now we have another complete tragedy that we’re dealing with,” he said.

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