A 13-year-old girl who was shot four times during a shooting spree in Michigan called emergency services herself before officers reached the scene, according to state police and members of her family.
The girl was taken to hospital in critical condition after the attacks on Friday in Missaukee County. Police said she was in stable condition by Saturday.
Michigan State Police spokesperson Lt Ashley Miller said the teenager called 911 to report that she had been shot at one of three locations connected to the incident. The suspected attacker had fled before officers arrived, but investigators quickly identified him, Miller said.
Police identified the suspected gunman as 39-year-old Chad Hickman. He is alleged to have killed five people across three locations before he was found dead beside another shooting victim in a wooded area after a manhunt.
Authorities said they had not released the names of the victims or their relationship to Hickman as of Saturday. They described the dead as a teenage boy and four adults.
At the first scene, officers found the bodies of a 16-year-old boy, a 45-year-old man and a 40-year-old woman, alongside the injured 13-year-old girl. A 53-year-old victim was found dead at a second home.
Police later found a 29-year-old woman and Hickman dead in the wooded area. All of those killed died from gunshot wounds. Investigators said an autopsy would determine whether Hickman died by suicide.
A relative identified two of the victims in a Facebook post as 40-year-old Amanda Everitt and her 16-year-old son, Eric. David Everitt, Amanda’s father and Eric’s grandfather, said his 13-year-old granddaughter had managed to call 911 and identify the shooter despite being shot four times.
Hickman had been convicted in 2024 of misdemeanor fourth-degree child abuse and sentenced to one year in prison, according to court records. The case followed a complaint by his ex-wife, who had begun divorce proceedings in 2023.
“This situation is heartbreaking for the community and challenging for the investigators involved,” Miller said.
