INGLESIDE, Texas — On a hot and humid day, Ingleside resident Lillian Sandoval decided to take her two children to N.O. Simmons Park to enjoy the splash pad there.
She did so knowing that, the night before, an estimated 20 to 25 people were either taking part in or watching a fight near the park's basketball courts.
At one point, nearby neighbors reported gunfire from what they thought was a semi-automatic rifle.
As police arrived and people and vehicles started to scatter, one car tried to hit officers, while a second car briefly dragged an officer who was trying to arrest the people inside.
There are no reports of injuries, and the incident didn't dissuade Sandoval from visiting the park with her kids.
But it does concern her.
“I don’t see why there were so many kids out here so late," she said. "It is kind of scary. In this little town, nothing really like that happens. I’m sure everybody’s shocked."
A Facebook post by the Ingleside Police Department on Thursday morning referred to the fight participants as "kids," but an afternoon press release said that adults were involved as well.
"After further investigation, it appears that this was a fight between two persons, which was being encouraged and cheered by other minors and adults that had congregated in a flash-mob fashion at the park," the press release reads.
Our call to Ingleside Police Chief Tammy Burr was not returned, and no one would speak to us on the matter when we visited the police department.
The initial Facebook post asked residents who live near the park to share with police any videos they captured of the incident from home security cameras.
Heather Blasingame can clearly see the park from her house, because her backyard hasn't had a fence around it since Hurricane Harvey knocked it down in 2017.
But she doesn't have security cameras, and at the time, she didn't even know there was a fight going on and shots being fired just before midnight.
“I’m a real, real sound sleeper," she said laughing. "Really, really sound."
She quickly learned about the incident after waking up Thursday morning.
Living so close to where it happened, Blasingame's reaction was similar to Sandoval's -- only a little more intense.
“It makes me want to move," she said, laughing again. "It’s just one of those things you think doesn’t really happen around here in a small town.”
So far, there is no word of police making any arrests.
They continue to encourage anyone with information about or video of the fight and its aftermath to come forward.
