ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. – Sunday marks one year since the shooting at a Rochester Hills splash pad.
Nine people, including two children, were hurt when the shooter opened fire on families at Brooklands Plaza Splash Pad on June 15, 2024. That shooter then took his own life.
Rochester Hills Mayor Bryan Barnett joined Local 4 Live on Thursday morning and discussed how the community healed following the shooting.
You can watch the full interview at the beginning of this article.
In the interview, Barnett recalled how he felt and what he saw the day of the shooting.
“The first reaction I had was that incident, that terrible incident, wasn’t going to define our community, but our response would,” he said.
Following the shooting, he said the community, specifically the neighborhood near the splash pad, stepped in to help and offered to contribute in any way possible.
“Resiliency was on display within hours,” he said.
Barnett said people were going out and contributing in any way possible.
“It took tragedy, and it turned it into a lot of brilliant moments in a community and what could have been a dark scar for a long time,” he said.
Barnett said the city won’t host anything at the splash pad on Sunday, but there will be “a recognition of resiliency in the neighborhood in the coming months.”
Barnett explained in the interview that he got help from mental health experts following the shooting so the city could have recommendations on what the next steps would be towards recovery, as opposed to creating political statements.
He then said he was there when the splash pad reopened about a month after the shooting and spoke with a mother who brought her young child there.
“She said it was important for her to bring her young daughter to be there to show that good things can happen following tragedy. I thought, what an amazing lesson,” he said.
“Gun violence is awful. It changes a community. One year later, I look at the way our community responded, I couldn’t be more happy to be a part of this community. Rochester Hills is resilient,” said Barnett. “I’m proud where our community is one year later.”
