Six people are dead, including the gunman, and one person is critically wounded after a shooting spree that unfolded across three separate locations in rural Missaukee County yesterday. Michigan State Police say the violence began at a home on South LaChance Road and ended in a wooded area near Whitlock Lake, where troopers found the body of the suspect alongside a fifth victim.
A Rampage That Spanned Three Crime Scenes
According to The Detroit News, a 911 call around 11:40 a.m. Friday reported a shooting near Lake City, northeast of Cadillac, prompting a large-scale response. MSP Lieutenant Ashley Miller told the outlet that troopers ultimately found three people dead and one critically wounded at that first scene, while a fourth victim was discovered dead at a second residence during the search. As reported by The Independent, the fifth victim and the suspect were later found dead together in a wooded area near Whitlock Lake in Caldwell Township, closing out a search that had spanned two townships in a matter of hours.
Police identified the suspect as 39-year-old Chad Hickman. During the manhunt, state police issued emergency alerts urging the public to watch for Hickman, described as driving a white pickup truck with a distinctively discolored tailgate, per Mid-Michigan NOW. That truck was later found abandoned near Whitlock Lake, the outlet reported. Law enforcement reporting cited by UpNorthLive indicates Hickman died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound beside his vehicle after being tracked during a multi-agency manhunt that used aviation and K-9 units.
Roads Closed, Investigation Underway
Michigan State Police closed South LaChance between W. Rosted Road and West Jennings Road due to the active investigation, and the Detroit News reports that the Michigan State Police 7th District declined to discuss further details of the shooting. Investigators are still working to piece together what happened and why, the paper notes, and the exact relationships between Hickman and all five deceased victims have not been publicly detailed.
Governor Gretchen Whitmer issued a statement after being briefed on the shooting, expressing condolences to victims' families and saying her office was actively monitoring the situation, according to the Associated Press, as reported by WFAA.
A Troubled History Emerges
Court records reviewed by OpIndia show Hickman was involved in divorce proceedings in Michigan's 28th Circuit Court during 2025 and 2026, with court findings noting allegations of domestic violence on both sides. The outlet also found that Hickman pleaded guilty in 2024 to misdemeanor fourth-degree child abuse and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, stemming from a 2010 incident, and received a 365-day county jail sentence along with $1,775 in fines. It remains unknown whether any formal protective order had been filed against Hickman before Friday's attack, or the precise sequence of events across the three scenes.
Red Flag Laws and a Rural County's Recent Toll
Michigan established Extreme Risk Protection Orders, commonly known as red flag laws, under legislation enacted in February 2024, allowing law enforcement, family members, and healthcare providers to petition courts to temporarily restrict firearm access for people showing dangerous warning signs, according to the University of Michigan Institute for Firearm Injury Prevention. The laws followed mass shootings at Oxford High School and Michigan State University. Michigan judges approved 407 such orders in 2025 out of 514 requests, an 80% approval rate, with more than 91% granted as emergency orders without prior notice, per the state's Court Administrative Office, as detailed by News From The States.
Missaukee County, home to an estimated 15,274 people spread across 574 sparsely populated square miles, has now weathered two devastating domestic-violence-linked killings within months. In May, Hoodline reported an earlier murder-suicide in Lake City, in which an 85-year-old man killed his 64-year-old daughter and 89-year-old wife before taking his own life — a case also investigated by the MSP Cadillac Post under Lt. Miller. Just a day before Friday's shooting spree, Hoodline also reported a separate domestic assault and vehicle theft incident in Lake City, underscoring a troubling recent pattern in the small county.
