Couple hit by gunfire as they shielded daughters in Rochester Hills splash pad shooting

Micayla and Eric Coughlin and their young daughters were at the Brooklands Plaza Splash Pad in Rochester Hills on Saturday for less than a minute when a gunman pulled up in a vehicle and fired at least 28 rounds at the families gathered there.

They had just gotten ice cream, according to a GoFundMe page created for the Coughlins by a family friend. When they heard the gunfire, they grabbed their daughters, ages 2 and 7 months, to protect them. They succeeded.

But in the process, the Coughlins were shot a total of seven times and remain hospitalized, according to the GoFundMe account posted by family friend Noel Wakul. The GoFundMe account was verified by the Oakland County Sheriff's Office.

The Coughlins were among nine people shot by the gunman, identified by police as Michael William Nash, 42, of Shelby Township. Authorities described the scene as chaotic — people were scrambling, falling and getting hit by bullets as they tried to run; ice cream cones and flip flops were covered in blood.

Police said other victims included an 8-year-old boy who was in critical condition with a wound to the head and a 4-year-old boy who was stable condition with a wound to the thigh. A 39-year-old woman shot in the abdomen and leg was also in critical condition.

The tragedy that unfolded at the Rochester Hills splash pad was just one of three mass shootings that occurred in Michigan Saturday, all in metro Detroit. In Lathrup Village, six people were shot at a house party Saturday morning shortly after midnight. Two were in critical condition. In Detroit, a woman was killed and four other people were shot late Saturday night. The victims in both shootings were teenagers and young adults.

"We're getting all too good at this," Oakland County Executive Dave Coulter said on Sunday at a news conference.

What happened on Saturday

"I can only describe the last 24 hours as a nightmare," Rochester Hills Mayor Bryan Barnett said Sunday. He said he never thought he'd see his city written in the same sentence as other cities who have experienced mass shootings.

Barnett said he cried when he made it to the splash pad on Saturday, where police say Nash had pulled up around 5:11 p.m., exited a vehicle, walked up the stairs to the splash pad's platform and opened fire.

Nash reloaded his weapon, fired again at the victims, reloaded once more, and calmly left the scene, Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said. He described the shooting as "very random" and "bizarre;" the suspect has no known connections to the victims.

Police responded to the scene in less than two minutes, Bouchard said. By then, the gunman had left and contained himself in a nearby Shelby Township home. A weapon, a 9mm Glock, was recovered at the scene along with three magazines.

Bouchard said after attempts to contact the suspect failed, drones were deployed to examine the home, where Nash was found dead of an apparent self-inflected gunshot wound. Also inside the home on the kitchen table was what looked like a semi-automatic rifle, Bouchard said. He suggested Nash may have had plans for a "second chapter."

Bouchard described the Rochester Hills tragedy as a "gut punch." He referenced the Nov. 2021 shooting at Oxford High School, where 15-year-old Ethan Crumbley shot and killed four classmates, and the Feb. 2023 shooting at Michigan State University, where three students were killed.

More: Rochester Hills splash pad shooting suspect identified by Oakland County Sheriff's Office

More: Police: 9 injured, suspect dead after shooting at splash pad in Rochester Hills

Community members react to tragedy

Many in the Rochester Hills community remain shocked, describing their city as a safe place where tragedies like mass shootings are unheard of.

In the mobile home park Dequindre Estates in Shelby Township, where Nash reportedly lived with his mother, neighbors like Paul McCracken, didn’t know what was going on or the severity of the situation until police sent out an alert around 6 p.m. Saturday for nearby houses to evacuate.

McCracken told the Free Press on Sunday that residents didn’t receive the clear that they could return until much later that night, so he and his family were forced to spend the night at another family member’s house. They came home Sunday afternoon, while some other evacuated neighbors were reportedly still too uneasy to return to their homes.

Adam Urquhart Sr. and his 9-year-old son, Adam Jr., were fishing at the lake in the center of Dequindre Estates on Saturday when they saw “about a hundred” cop cars race into the neighborhood.

“We’re fishing and minding our business, and next thing you know, there’s guys walking down the street with bulletproof vests and AR-15s strapped,” the father said. “I was like, ‘Yeah, it’s time to go home.' ”

The senior Urquhart, who was visiting his son who lives with his mother in the park, said he used to live just a couple of blocks away from the splash park and later lived in the neighborhood, which made the tragedy even more appalling to him.

“Everyone in here knows each other. It’s a small park, everyone in here’s nice people so everyone kind of looks out for each other," he said.

"This is a safe area, and that’s why I’m so shocked at what happened,” he continued. “When it happens this close to home, it’s hard.”

A neighbor named Carol, who did not want to provide her last name, said she knew the suspect and his mother, who she says had been traveling before her son allegedly opened fire at the splash park.

"The mom wasn't so bad, but I got bad vibes from him," Carol said, referring to Nash.

Amber Holliday, who grew up in Dequindre Estates and met many of the neighbors during her childhood days riding a bike through the neighborhood, says she and her partner, Josh, also didn’t know the suspect or his family.

“He wasn’t someone who was out, I guess. I’d never seen him,” said Josh, who did not want to provide his last name.

The two said they frequent the splash pad with their 8-month-old son, Zayden; Josh had even considered taking Zayden to the splash pad just before the shooting occurred on Saturday before deciding to put him down for a nap instead.

Shortly after, Josh’s phone filled up with concerned texts and calls from loved ones checking to see if the young family was OK.

Now, on the warm Sunday afternoon, Josh said the neighborhood was eerily empty. Normally the streets would be packed with kids biking and skateboarding and families fishing and spending time near the lake, especially on a holiday like Father’s Day, but his family was one of the few in the neighborhood spending the afternoon outdoors.

Although Dequindre Estates is still Holliday’s home and she’s not going to let the tragedy push her out, she now feels the need to be cautious with neighbors she doesn’t know well, she said.

Andrea Sahouri covers criminal justice for the Detroit Free Press. She can be contacted at 313-264-0442 or [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Rochester Hills shooting: Couple hit by gunfire while shielding kids