A couple who brought their infant and toddler to a Michigan splash pad — and protected them when a deranged gunman opened fire — were among nine shooting victims at the summer attraction Saturday, loved ones confirmed.
Micayla and Eric Coughlin were both wounded protecting their 2-year-old and 7-month-old daughters when shots rang out inside the Brooklands Plaza Splash Pad near their home at around 5 p.m.
The husband and wife, who live in Rochester, were shot a combined seven times during the horrifying scene, a family friend said in a GoFundMe post.
“Shortly after grabbing ice cream they walked to the splash pad and were not even there for a minute when Micayla and Eric heard gunfire,” the post states. “In an effort to save their children, they each grabbed a child to protect them.”
The two are undergoing treatment after they were rushed to a hospital.
“Because of their heroic actions, their children were protected and able to go home that evening,” the family friend said on the GoFundMe page. “Micayla and Eric face a long and unknown recovery from this unthinkable tragedy.”
As of Sunday night, the fundraiser has raised more than $20,000.
The Coughlins and seven other park-goers were wounded in the shooting carried out by 42-year-old Michael William Nash, who later killed himself during a police standoff.
The sickening gun violence left an 8-year-old boy critically injured after he was shot in the head and a younger relative, a 4-year-old boy, in stable condition after he suffered a gunshot wound to the thigh, Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said, according to the Detroit News.
A 39-year-old woman, who is related to the two kids, was also shot in the legs and abdomen and was in critical condition Saturday.
Other victims were all 30 or older, including a 78-year-old man, WXYZ reported. They were all in stable condition.
Rochester Hills Mayor Bryan Barnett said one of the victims is the wife of a city worker and she was there with 14 family and friends, the Detroit News reported.
“[When I talked to her husband,] he was in shock, but he was grateful his family was OK and is focused on supporting them,” Barnett said, according to the outlet.