2 dead, 1 hurt in apparent random shooting on Lake Michigan beach town pier, cops say

A shooting on a pier in a Lake Michigan beach town has left two people dead and another injured, police said.

South Haven Police Chief Natalie Thompson said the shooting on the south beach pier Friday afternoon appeared to be random, WZZM reported. The shooter and another man died, while a woman was in critical condition, the news outlet reported.

Thompson said the shooter killed himself, WOOD reported. A bullet from the gunfire hit a jet ski in the water, but the rider was uninjured, the news outlet reported.

“It is rare overall to have random acts of violence and it is very unsettling,” Thompson said, according to WOOD. “Very unusual for our area.”

The injured woman was flown to a hospital in Kalamazoo, WBND reported.

A beach camera appeared to capture the shooting about 2:15 p.m., according to WWMT. Three people were standing at the edge of the pier when two of them fell one after the other and the third person walked toward the beach and dropped onto the pier, the news outlet reported.

“All of the sudden people came running with their kids. Just running, freaking out, crying, it was kind of traumatizing, especially with the parents and the little kids,” Jayne Sherwood, a visitor, told WWMT.

The men who died have not been identified.

This story was originally published August 20, 2021 at 3:36 PM.