ROCHESTER HILLS (WWJ) — Police are continuing to investigate what drove a 42-year-old Shelby Township man to open fire at the Brooklands Plaza Splash Pad last weekend, injuring nine people.
As of Wednesday, six of the nine victims had been released from the hospital. A 39-year-old woman and her 8-year-old son remained in critical condition, while a 30-year-old woman was last said to be in stable condition.
In the hours after the shooting Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard credited the use of Live 911 technology in helping police respond to the scene quickly.
"Live 911 allows us to actually have people in the field hear the actual call coming in, literally live, to our 911 center. And we can geofence that technology so it comes into them in the area where they are patrolling," Bouchard told WWJ's Jay Dennis. "So they can actually hear the content of the call and self-deploy if they think it will save time and lives by not waiting for a dispatch call to go out. And that's what happened at the tragic shooting."
Bouchard said a sergeant who was on duty close to the scene was monitoring Live 911 when he heard the first call regarding the shooting come in, so he self-deployed.
Bouchard says that sergeant was at the scene in "a minute to a minute and a half" and began providing critical care to the victims. While the suspect had already fled the splash pad, Bouchard told WWJ's Jay Dennis the use of Live 911 was crucial in getting help to the victims quickly while other first responders made their way to the scene.
The department uses Live 911 technology in a number of ways every day, according to Bouchard.
"Our DFR, our drones as first responders, can listen in to calls that they believe they can make an emergency impact with a drone, for example. And if they hear a call where somebody is having an emergency or some event is unfolding, they can launch the drone and get overhead and begin to share information of what they're seeing," Bouchard said.
Bouchard said those patrolling the roads can also use Live 911 and deploy themselves to scenes where they think immediate responses would make a difference.
While no motive has been uncovered in this case, information from a family member suggests the shooter — 42-year-old Michael William Nash of Shelby Township — was struggling with mental health and exhibited signs of paranoia.
