A 39-year-old man killed five people across multiple locations in rural northern Michigan before his body was discovered in a wooded area near Whitlock Lake, Michigan State Police confirmed Thursday.
Chad Hickman launched the shooting spree just before noon at a home near the intersection of LaChance Road and Kelly Road in Richland Township, Missaukee County, roughly 170 miles northwest of Detroit. By the time a massive law enforcement search ended hours later, five victims lay dead at three separate scenes, a 13-year-old girl was fighting for her life, and Hickman himself was gone.
The first alert came from the youngest victim. A 13-year-old girl who had been shot in the arm managed to report the attack, Breitbart noted, citing the Daily Mail. Her call set the response in motion.
When officers arrived at the first home, they found three people dead and the girl critically wounded. Hickman had already fled.
What followed was a large-scale search spanning Missaukee County's rural landscape. During that search, officers discovered a fourth victim at a second residence. Hickman's body and a fifth victim were later found in a wooded area near Whitlock Lake, where his vehicle had also been located, the Associated Press reported.
Authorities confirmed there is no ongoing danger to the public.
The final toll: five victims killed, one critically wounded, and the suspected gunman dead. The shootings spanned at least two homes and the wooded area near the lake, ABC News reported.
Michigan State Police have not publicly confirmed the identities of the five victims or their relationships to Hickman. Investigators have not said what type of firearm was used or how Hickman died. Whether his death was self-inflicted or resulted from another cause has not been disclosed.
The geographic spread of the crime scenes, two residences and a remote wooded area, complicated the initial law enforcement response and forced agencies to coordinate across a wide rural footprint.
Hickman was not unknown to the legal system. The New York Post reported that he had a 2010 misdemeanor conviction for fourth-degree child abuse and contributing to the delinquency of children. He served a year in jail for those offenses.
His personal life carried its own trail of documented turmoil. In a 2025 divorce trial opinion, Judge Melissa Ransom referenced testimony from Hickman's ex-wife, Katie Hickman, who described the marriage in stark terms.
"[The marriage] was characterized by control, coercion, and fear."
Katie Hickman made that statement during proceedings before Judge Ransom, as cited in the court's written opinion. The Post reported that the marriage was marked by alleged domestic violence.
Investigators have not publicly confirmed whether any of Thursday's victims had a domestic or familial connection to Hickman. That question will be central to understanding the motive behind the rampage.
Missaukee County is a sparsely populated area in Michigan's northern Lower Peninsula. Violent crime on this scale is virtually unheard of there. Michigan State Police Lt. Ashley Miller acknowledged the weight of the moment on both the community and the officers working the case.
"Not only is this difficult for our investigators and our troopers, but it's very hard for this community. You know, this type of loss is tragic."
Miller, a public information officer for MSP, also called the situation "heartbreaking for the community and challenging for the investigators involved," Fox News reported.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer issued a brief statement following the shootings. "My thoughts are with the victims, their families, and the Missaukee community," Whitmer said, as the AP reported.
The case remains in its early investigative stages. Authorities have not publicly confirmed the sequence of events between the first home and the wooded area near Whitlock Lake. They have not disclosed whether Hickman targeted specific individuals or what triggered the violence.
The manner and cause of Hickman's death have not been released. Investigators will need to determine whether he acted alone and whether any warning signs were reported to law enforcement before Thursday.
The condition of the 13-year-old girl, who was critically wounded with a gunshot to the arm, has not been updated publicly. Her role as the person who first alerted authorities may have prevented an even longer delay in the law enforcement response.
Hickman's criminal record, including the child abuse conviction and the divorce proceedings that documented allegations of coercion and control, will likely draw scrutiny as investigators piece together a motive. Whether he was subject to any active protective orders or firearm restrictions at the time of the shootings has not been disclosed.
Five people are dead in a county where most residents know their neighbors. A teenage girl is in critical condition. The man suspected of all of it was found lifeless in the woods, beyond the reach of any courtroom.
When the system has a documented history of someone's violence and that person later kills five people, the questions that follow are not abstract. They are the kind a community deserves answered.
