[117] Brooklands Splash Pad, Rochester Hills, Michigan

Active shooter with mash casualty incidents. Thank you for listening.

of one or more people. On the other hand, according to the FBI's website, a mass shooting is defined as quote one or more individuals actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a populated area, the clear

difference being the attempt to take human life. Although Active Shooters' cases have all been true mass casualty events, the case we are presenting today was a mass shooting where no innocent people were murdered, but hundreds were still gonne down by a man who had every intention of killing. It is nothing short of a miracle that no one

was killed. However, there were are injuries, physical, emotional, and psychological damage that will forever exist for those at the Brooklands Plaza splash pad on Saturday, June fifteenth, twenty twenty four. Today's case is dedicated to the nine injured survivors, as well as the hundreds of others who were either witnesses, bystanders, or otherwise related to those who were injured. Active Shooter the podcast is a High five Holly production, and I'm

your host Jay. If you've listened to our prior episodes, you know that the Active Shooter podcast team has taken the no Notoriety pledge and we will not be sharing the real name of the shooters that we cover. We will be giving the shooters a pseudonym and refer to them by that name throughout the episode. This will help in clearing up any confusion in the story while remaining true to our pledge and not naming the shooter by their actual name, we will refer to today's shooter as Felix.

The Brooklyn Splash Pad is located at fifteen eighty five East Auburn Road in Rochester Hills, Michigan, sitting with the Brooklyn's Park neighborhood of Rochester Hills, which is a suburb of Detroit. Rochester Hills the fourteenth largest city in Michigan with a population of just over seventy six thousand, and Brookland's Park is the oldest neighborhood in the city. Rochester Hills is situated within Oakland County and is under twenty miles away from Oxford High School, a shooting we covered

in episode eighty. The splash Pad is a part of the plaza that offers several water features, restrooms and cafe style tables and chairs, and sits across the street from an ice cream shop. Saturday, June fifteenth, twenty twenty four, the day before Father's Day, was sunny and warm temperatures were in the mid to upper seventies, and it was exactly the kind of perfect evening to gather the kiddos up and head to the local splash pad for a

little aquatic entertainment. At approximately five pm, forty two year old Felix drove to the splash pad and parked. He collected a nine millimeter glock handgun, exited the vehicle, walked a few feet and immediately opened fire upon hundreds of people who were splashing, playing and having fun. They weren't paying attention to the person with a gun until they had no choice but to. Some witnesses later reported that Felix carried two firearms, but evidence has proven to show

a single weapon was used. He walked up the steps, where he proceeded to reload the weapon and shot again down into the splash pad area. As is so often the case, people inexplicably thought fireworks were being shot off when the initial shots were fired. When they realized the horrifying truth, they ran, or hid or did whatever needed

to be done to ensure their own safety. The initial nine to one one call was placed at five eleven PM, and police responded instantly, arriving on scene only three minutes later, Felix was already gone. By then police jumped into action, sending units to search for the shooter, while others stated the splash pad to gain control over the chaos. People were running wildly, desperately trying to figure out where safety

even was. After all, who wouldn't think there was a certain level of safety at a place such as a splash pad where there were mostly families and children playing. Why did this person choose this splash pad? Was there a specific target there? Did he have some qualms with the splash pad management? There was so much to learn, but little would be discovered. Felix fired thirty six times and reloaded his weapon twice. It bears repeating this is an utter miracle that there were no debts. Injuries, on

the other hand, were a plenty. There were a number of people's shot, while others were harmed when trying to run from the shooting. For his part, Felix calmly walked back to his vehicle, entered and drove off, as if he'd only walked up to enjoy the sight of laughing children and wasn't a madman who just attempted to murder them. He left behind three empty magazines and the weapon, dropping them near a child's rainbow colored sandal and a toy car,

and he just walked away. The location of the splash pad was essentially in the middle of the neighborhood, not along a main road. Forty three year old Jerry Schmidt was at his mother's home, which was just down the street from the splash pad, when he heard shots being fired. Jerry sprang into action and raced towards the shooting, only thinking of how he might help. Jerry was a registered concealed pistol carrier and he had a firearm on his person.

He snatched up a medical kit and ran towards the splash pad. He stopped as he found people in need, providing compression bandages and tourniquets as he went. Police immediately found the weapon Felix abandoned. They were able to run the registration and obtain Felix's address, a mobile home park called De Kindre Estates. It was located in Shelby Township,

only a half mile from the splash pad. Sure enough, when police arrived, they saw a vehicle matching the description of the one the shooter drove the swant team was brought in to surround the home and they attempted to communicate with Felix. There was a five hour stand off with police where Felix refused to leave the house, and out of an abundance of caution, police weren't going in. They needed to be ready to react in the event

that Felix started shooting again at them. Yet, after so many hours of trying to contact Felix with no response forthcoming, police began to wonder. The home was eventually breached with drones and several officers. Felix was found inside of the house dead from an apparent gunshot wound. He lived with his mother, who wasn't present the entire time the standoff

and subsequent search took place. Another handgun was retrieved from the residence, which, for obvious reasons, police believed to be the weapon the shooter used to take his life and not the attempted murder weapon. An AR fifteen style rifle was recovered as well, and this, along with the other evidence collected, led police to believe that the shooter was

likely planning another attack before. There were a total of ten firearms removed from the house during the police search, along with computers, thumb drives, and a phone back at the splash pad, police blocked off access to the entire area using yellow crime scene tape. Dozens of evidence markers littered the scene like debris strewn about after a bad storm. Before too long, police erected a temporary fence around the perimeter of the splash pad area. The police response, besides

being incredibly swift, was massive. Over one hundred first responders arrived on the scene to his sis assist. The shooting. Victim's ages ranged from four to seventy eight years old. Not a single injured person had a connection two or knew the shooter. Immediately following the shooting, three of the victims were rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery, including an eight year old boy who was placed in critical care. He eventually made a full physical recovery, but the emotional

scars will likely take many years to heal. A four year old was also shot in the thigh and taken to the emergency room. His mom, Joanna Beiebout, was also listed in critical condition at the same hospital. Six victims, including a four year old boy, a forty two year old male, a thirty one year old male, a seventy eight year old male and a thirty seven year old female and a thirty nine year old female were released from the hospital about four days later, or the Wednesday

following the shooting. The eight year old boy was hospitalized for a longer time, as was a thirty and thirty nine year old female. The two youngest boys were brothers who were playing at the splash Pad before their lives were irrevocably changed. They did not ask for this when the shooting began. Danielle and Mario Lefrate were at the splash Pad with their three children, a seven year old

and teenage twin daughters. As the family was fleeing, Danielle was clutching her youngest, the seven year old, when she was shot twice, once in the back and once in the arm. A passerby saw Danielle and frantically motioned her towards the car. Danielle got in and rushed to a nearby hospital. Meanwhile, her husband, Mario was back at the splash Pad when he was separated from their older twin daughters. One of the girls was hiding behind the ice cream shop,

while one was literally hiding in the bushes. Danielle had surgery the day after the shooting and was released from the hospital to recover at home. Danielle ran a home based daycare which was temporarily shuddered while she began her healing journey. Mario and the children were physically unharmed, but the level of trauma they endured runs very deep. Carlos and Carina licud Borges went to the splash pad with

their six year old son. The couple was each shot as they were the first to catch the shooter's eye. They both started running to their son when Carlos was shot in the knee and Karina was shot in the hand. They made it to their son, however, and managed to throw themselves over him as human shields protect their son. They did both underwent surgery and were sent home to

recover as a family. Joanna Beebout and her two boys, a four and eight year old, were at a splash pad enjoying a fun Saturday when the shots rang out. Joanna also made herself into a human shield, protecting her children as all mama bears do. She and the boys were taken to Corwell Health's Royal Oak Beaumont Hospital, where they each stayed in the intensive care unit for several

days before being released. Joanna was shot several times, including in both legs, which were each broken her back, abdomen, shoulder, and hand. Her eight year old was shot in the head and had to have surgery to remove a piece of his skull so his brain could properly swell. At the time of this release, he is still recovering with a protective helmet until the piece of skull can be replaced. Tragically, he lost vision in both eyes as a result of the injury. Joanna's four year old was shot in the

leg and had to have a bullet extracted. Mikaela and Eric Coughlin had decided to take their daughters, a two year old and a seven month old, to get ice cream and then go to the splash pad. They thought their little girl would get an absolute kick out of splashing in the water with other children. The family was only at the splash pad for about a minute before the shooting started. Each parent grabbed a child and shielded them.

Mikaela and Eric were shot a combined seven times. Their girl suffered no injuries, and the blessing is that they likely will never remember the heroism their parents exhibited that day. Seventy seven year old Richard Schumborg took his granddaughter to the splash pad that Saturday. He was shot twice, once

in the thigh and once in the abdomen. Richard's granddaughter, grasping the seriousness of the situation, ran to the bathroom, where she hid with a friend and was ultimately physically unharmed. Forty two year old Felix, a resident of Shelby Township, lived with his mother and was the youngest of four adult children. His mother was quote traveling the United States when the shooting occurred, and by all accounts, she seemed

completely unaware of what her son was up to. Felix had no criminal history, and his neighbor's report that he was pretty quiet and never really worked much After COVID, he mostly stayed indoors with the shades drawn and the door shut. His father passed away several years prior to the shooting, but it's unclear what impact the death had on Felix. Some people who knew Felix said he suffered from mental health challenges, but the extent of which isn't known.

He wasn't formally diagnosed with any type of illness, but his family says that Felix had started becoming increasingly paranoid in the months leading up to the shooting. He often told his mother that she needed to shut her phone off, and he would pace the house holding weapons, musing and muttering about the government listening to them and tracking them.

Despite the recent decline, Felix's mom said he was kind and outgoing towards others, and there had never been interpersonal or any other relationship conflicts that anyone seemed aware of. Court documents related to a twenty eleven bankruptcy filing were discovered in research of this case. The records indicate that Felix filed for bankruptcy after he lost his landscaping company during the economic crash of two thousand and nine. The business lost most of its clients and as such he

had to lay people off and let people go. Eventually, he couldn't pay bills and got equipment repossessed before finally filing for bankruptcy. There are zero known reports of Felix being angry or combative. There doesn't appear to be a very long or lengthy history of mental health issues or decline. In fact, the motive for the shooting is still unknown.

It does seem, however, that the isolation, fear, and uncertainty of the COVID pandemic played a role in the decline of the shooter, though not necessarily the reason for it. The splash Pad reopened eighteen days after the shooting on July third. Before the reopening, the city consulted with mental health professionals, who suggested that subtle changes be made, such as repainting the main building, replacing the patio furniture, and

adding stripes to the polls. Joanna Biebout's mother in law, Barbara Soften, hosted a blood drive on Sunday, September eighth. She was quoted in an article for WXYZ News as saying, quote, my daughter in law was shot seven times, and each of my grandchildren were shot. One my eight year old grandchild is now blind from it because he was shot in the head, but it didn't kill his spirits. It got me when I found out that we had not enough blood on the shelves, that if we had another

mass casualty, there wasn't enough to help people. My daughter in law took two units of blood that we are aware of, and if somebody hadn't done that for her, she wouldn't be here. You cannot hear about these injuries and horror stories without imagining how much worse this could have gone. And yet these people have to live, some with life altering injuries, reliving the pain and trauma from

the most disturbing act any individual could live through. Each of these shooting survivors is just that a survivor who, against all odds, was attacked by a mass shooter and made it out alive, albeit changed forever. And that is the thing we must not lose. Sight of mass shootings cause more harm beyond the deaths of loved ones. The impact reverberates throughout the lives of the survivors, families, first responders,

and witnesses. Although common sense gun reform is the most obvious way we can make an impact, there are so many other ways you can help, including donating blood, advocating for mental health reform, and writing your local politicians that you want to see meaningful change. Few people in modern American society are untouched by such an event, and it is past time that we take a stand, say and

mean not one more. This episode is also dedicated to the first responders of the Oakland County Sheriff's Department and all other assisting agencies who recently completed a week long trial and sentencing of Jennifer and James Crumbly, the parents of the Oxford shooter. Those law enforcement officials were still in the midst of dealing with the aftermath of a horrific school shooting while responding to yet another shooting involving

innocent children. We all have the unique ability to help prevents such a catastrophic event from happening if we keep our eyes and ears open and never hesitate to report when something or some one just doesn't seem right. With the delicate balance of mental health reform, education, active shooter training, and common sense gun laws, we may one day realize the dream, the dream that there will be no more active shootings. We pray that love will prevail over hate.

Too many have died, we should say to ourselves, not one more. In the meantime, we urge our listeners to stay aware of your surroundings and keep in touch with your loved ones. If you see something, say something, you never know how many lives you'll be saving. Thank you for listening to today's episode of Active Shooter the Podcast. Remember, if you see something, say something, there's no telling how

many lives you may be saving. A big thank you to Darren Curtis who composed some of the songs on our show. You can find him online at www dot Darrencurtis music dot com. Make sure to check us out on social media. You can find us on Facebook at Active Shooter the Podcast and on Twitter at podcast Active. Thank you and be safe.