Rochester Hills Mayor Shares Challenges and Lessons in City’s Response to Splash Pad Shooting
(Crystal A. Proxmire, April 2, 2025)
Rochester Hills, MI – Until it happens in their town, it can be hard for local officials to know what to expect when there’s a mass shooting or other tragedy.
But on June 15, 2024, when a lone gunman open-fired on families that were enjoying a summer day at the Brooklands Splash Pad, it gave Rochester Hills Mayor Bryan Barnett a firsthand lesson in leading through the unthinkable.
From the logistics of securing the scene, to in-the-moment communications, to the unexpected challenges and decisions, plus the emotional toll felt by families, staff, and the whole community, there were many things that would have been difficult to prepare for, yet needed to be shared.
And on March 18, Mayor Barnett shared the story of that day, and of the weeks that followed, to an audience of elected officials and administrators from across the state as part of the Michigan Municipal League’s annual Capitol Convention, preparing them for the reality that if this can happen in a place that’s been named one of the safest in America, it can happen anywhere.
“There is nothing that can ever prepare you for this,” he said.
Just two days before the shooting, the city had sent a photographer out to the splash pad to capture images of families enjoying the refreshing community space. Children and parents ran carefree through streams of water under a beautiful sunny sky. And two days later that same space would be riddled with bullet holes and splattered with blood.
It happened on a Saturday of Father’s Day weekend. Mayor Barnett was out on a boat one town to the north when he got a call that there was an active shooter at the splash pad and to get there as quickly as he could.
These days he keeps an extra set of clothes in the car with the city logo on them in case there is ever another emergency, but at the time swim trunks and flip flops had to suffice.
His mind raced as he headed to the scene, wondering how something like this could happen, wondering what he might expect, and talking himself up for demeanor he would need to share when he arrived.
“The one thing I knew was when I pulled up to the scene, I knew I had to present strength. I knew I needed to present resolve, and it’s important to the first responders I needed to do the best I could to show solidarity and present this resolute leader, because that’s what in my mind a leader should look like in a time of tragedy,” Barnett said.
But that brave-faced demeanor did not last long once the Mayor stepped into the horror that his neighbors had been experiencing. “As I ran to the scene, I just balled,” he said. “Everything I thought I was going to be was lost and I crumbled into tears as I saw kids’ shoes, melted ice cream, and blood everywhere.”
In the moment, police were still putting together the pieces of what happened. They learned that 36 shots had been fired into the crowd of families. Ten people were struck by the gunman’s bullets, with the youngest victim being four years old, and the oldest being 77. Thankfully , all of them survived, but injuries were severe. One mother took three bullets while protecting her child. Another mother took eight. And one little boy, shot in the face, remains blind.
When Barnett arrived, there were swarms of first responders. Witnesses who’d been at the park took victims to hospitals themselves rather than waiting for ambulances. Pain, grief, and fear filled the air, as did the energy of those – first responders and neighbors – eager to help. And on top of that was the fact that the shooter was still at large.
Rochester Hills contracts with Oakland County Sheriff’s Office for policing services. Deputies were there within two minutes of the first call, and over 100 police and fire personnel were part of the response.
They used their resources to send out an alert to phones in the vicinity, urging people to be aware and to avoid the area. Nearby parks were also evacuated.
Rumors and misinformation flooded the internet. While some communities shy away from using social media, Barnett knew that putting out verified, official information would be the only way to address the curiosity and concerns that the community understandably had. Staff was assigned to share info that had also been cleared by the Sheriff’s Office. And internally, Barnett tagged City Council President Ryan Deel to be the one relaying information between himself and Councilmembers.
It was fortunate that Barnett already had key personnel cell phone numbers in his phone. He urged other officials in the room to do the same. Not just the Chief or department heads, but the top three or four people since emergencies can happen when the typical leaders may not be available. This made it easier to act quickly and call staff in. He also made contact with leadership at local hospitals that were treating victims, and with people at mental health organizations who might be able to help provide support.
As the Mayor and his team managed communications, they also went to work providing meals to first responders who would be spending hours processing the scene.
The shooter had left a pistol behind, which had been registered to his name. They soon had the man surrounded in his home. After a five-hour standoff, they entered and found that he’d taken his own life. Multiple other weapons were found in the home.
The attack appeared to be random. Deputies learned that the shooter had been unemployed and had a history of mental health struggles.
The community itself came forward with expressions of grief and a calling to step up and help. Even in the early moments of shock, Barnett knew that the community response would be huge, and he remembered telling folks early on “This tragedy will not define us, but how we react to it will.”
But in spite of the goodwill that flowed from the community, there were also “bad actors” that the City had to contend with.
As news broke about the shooting, the City’s website faced more cyber-attack attempts than ever in its history, a strong reminder to public officials to take online security seriously.
There were also fake online fundraisers established, claiming to raise money for victims that did not even exist. Tens of thousands of dollars were pledged to fake fundraisers before being shut down by OCSO.
Barnett and his team quickly recognized this problem and began alerting the public about the scams. He also coordinated with the Community Foundation of Greater Rochester, which was already set up to be able to accept donations.
He shared the importance of having a good relationship with an established organization that can be a reputable center for fundraising after a tragedy occurs.
“If something happened in your community today,” he said, “you’re going to get a ton of people who want to help and want to donate. If you’re not set up to do it, a bad actor will beat you to it.”
Relationships with Oakland County and mental health service providers also proved essential in the aftermath. “We immediately worked with the mental health community to make sure all the resources were available,” the Mayor said. Witnesses and families needed immediate support, as did neighbors in the area and even members of staff. The City’s Department of Public Services building was turned into a temporary counseling center. And the mayor himself spoke to other mayors across the country who had gone through similar experiences.
Barnett also had a hand in how to protect the space as the initial investigation was wrapping up. “It needed to be secured, but I didn’t want it to look like a crime scene. So we worked with Balfour [restoration company] to try and make it look respectable, like a construction site,” he said.
Even after the first few hectic days, the work of local leadership continued.
One simple, yet not so simple, decision had to be made. Would the City re-open the splash pad?
“Some people wanted it open the next day. ‘F those people. Open it up. Show them we’re bigger than they are.’
“Others said ‘Children’s blood spilled there; you can never open it again.’
“So, what do you do?”
Other Mayors had advised him to trust his own heart when making decisions, and also to consult with mental health experts when decisions were not so clear. So after filling in the bullet holes and cleaning up the blood, the City re-opened the splash pad on July 3, in time to celebrate Independence Day, and in an effort “not to let evil win.”
The city had also been preparing for its annual fireworks show, which took place at a park less than a mile away from the site. Some suggested cancelling it for the year, because the sound might be traumatic for the victims. But instead, Barnett made some calls and arranged a night for the victims and families at the Townsend Hotel – far away from the scary sounds – and “filled the hotel with pizza and ice cream and video games and all sorts of fun things.”
Rochester Hills also wanted to support the community through the healing process. They teamed up with Common Ground to open the Rochester Hills Resiliency Center, a place where anyone impacted by the shooting can come can stop in “for a safe place to hang out, do an activity, enjoy a snack, and even snuggle a dog,” as well as to set up an appointment with a trained specialist.
And on a more personal level, Barnett has kept in touch with all of the families involved, spending time with them in their homes, inviting them to events, and simply being a good neighbor as they continue to move forward from the tragedy.
“That statement I made right after, that ‘This tragedy will not define us, but how we react to it will, is what’s happening in Rochester Hills. There’s so much love and support in this community.”
Mayor Barnett encouraged fellow local officials to build relationships with others in Michigan and across the country. He is active in the U.S. Conference of Mayors, where he served as President in 2019. He shared that in the aftermath of the shooting he received many phone calls, including those from the Governor and the President, but that it was calls from fellow mayors who had been through tough situations that had been the most helpful to him.
He added that the US Conference of Mayors can be a great resource for officials to learn from as far as preparing for the unimaginable and finding support.
Barnett also recommended the website UnitedOnGuns.org which is a website designed for mayors and local officials with tools for responding to shootings. UnitedOnGuns is a nonpartisan initiative of the Public Health Advocacy Institute and Northeastern University School of Law. Their Mass Shooting Playbook gives an in depth look at topics like “crisis communications, collaborating with first responder agencies, victim assistance, school shootings, and legal considerations. The Playbook also includes case briefs and resources developed by the FBI, CDC, FEMA and other federal agencies.” The Mass Shooting Protocol First 24 Hours addresses immediate concerns when a shooting occurs.
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This story is part of a series of stories from the Michigan Municipal League Capital Conference which took place in Lansing on March 18-19. Learn more about MML at https://mml.org/. Read more Oakland County Times stories from MML trainings and conferences here.
