Five Killed in Michigan Shooting Spree, Suspect Chad Hickman Found Dead After Manhunt

Five people were killed and another was critically wounded Friday during a shooting spree across multiple locations in rural northern Michigan, triggering a massive manhunt that ended with suspected gunman Chad Hickman dead.

Michigan State Police were first dispatched around 11:40 a.m. to a home on South LaChance Road in Missaukee County after receiving a 911 call reporting that someone had been shot. When troopers arrived, they discovered three people dead inside the residence and another victim critically injured.

The surviving victim was transported to a local hospital in critical condition. Police have not publicly identified the victims as authorities work to notify their families.

As investigators examined the initial scene, the case quickly expanded across the surrounding area. Police discovered another victim dead inside a separate residence and a fifth victim in a wooded area near Whitlock Lake.

Authorities identified 39-year-old Chad Hickman, of the Lake City/Jennings area, as the suspect. Police warned residents that Hickman should be considered armed and dangerous as emergency response teams, aviation units and police dogs joined the search.

Hickman had fled before troopers arrived at the original crime scene. His white pickup truck was eventually located near Whitlock Lake, where investigators later found Hickman dead along with one of the victims.

Police have not yet disclosed how Hickman died. His death brings the total number of fatalities connected to the incident to six, including the five victims. Authorities have also not revealed a possible motive or explained what relationship, if any, Hickman had with the people who were killed.

Michigan State Police said there is no longer a threat to the public. Investigators are now working across the multiple crime scenes to reconstruct the sequence of events and determine exactly what led to the deadly rampage.

The killings have shaken the rural Missaukee County community as authorities begin the process of identifying the victims and determining what motivated the violence. Police emphasized that the investigation remains in its early stages and additional details about the victims and circumstances surrounding their deaths are expected as the case develops.