Michigan: At least 10 injured in park shooting

About ten people, including children, were injured by gunfire at a municipal water amusement park north of Detroit on Saturday around 17:00 local time (midnight Cyprus time), police announced, describing it as a “blind attack”.

The suspect remained at large into the evening; however, the police assured people they had located him in a nearby property and had surrounded him. The weapon used was found at the scene of the attack, according to the same source.

A man exited a vehicle in front of the Brooklands Plaza Splash Pad park in Rochester Hills, Michigan, and fired approximately thirty rounds from a 9mm Glock semi-automatic pistol, repeatedly reloading, explained Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard during a press conference.

It is not yet known if any of the victims have succumbed to their injuries, according to police, who initially reported five injured.

The community of Rochester Hills is located about fifty kilometers north of Detroit. The neighboring community of Oxford Township, also part of Oakland County, was turned into a scene of gun violence in 2021 when a 15-year-old student opened fire inside a school, killing four classmates and injuring six others and a staff member.

The United States, a country where there are more guns than residents (approximately 400 million), pays an exceptionally heavy price for their widespread availability and ease of acquisition, with tens of thousands of deaths every year. Efforts to impose stricter controls typically face significant opposition due to the influence of the gun lobby in Congress.