Nine wounded in Michigan water park shooting

At least nine people, including a child, were wounded during a shooting incident at a waterpark in the US state of Michigan, police have said.

“It appears like the individual pulled up, exited a vehicle, approached the splash pad, opened fire. Reloaded, opened fire. Reloaded. Left. So it appears very random at this point,” Sheriff Michael Bouchard of Oakland County told reporters, adding he believed the shooter had “no connectivity to the victims.”

He said preliminary information indicated there were nine to ten victims of varying ages, including one eight-year-old child. Several hospitals have received patients, he said.

A Glock handgun and empty magazines were recovered at the scene.

Sheriff Bouchard said that assets including SWAT teams and armoured vehicles have been deployed to assist in the search for the suspect.

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer said she was “heartbroken” to learn of the shooting.

“We are monitoring the situation as updates continue to come in, and are in touch with local officials,” she said on social media platform X.

Gun violence in the United States is common, and thousands of Americans are killed each year in shootings. Efforts at broad reforms to the nation’s gun laws have been stymied for decades.