BILLINGS — Trouble started brewing at Optimist Park even before Saturday’s shooting at the carnival at Berry’s Cherries. Police responded after it was reported that several juveniles made threats of a shooting.
No weapons were found, and no one was injured during the incident, but neighbors in the area said they were not surprised.
The scene at Optimist Park on Sunday was a stark contrast to Friday when families were fleeing the park.
“A young man came up to my daughters who were playing in the field and said that there is a gun here, you need to get away,” said Billings resident Freddie Bennett on Sunday.
Bennett was one of several dozen parents who were watching their kids play Little League and quickly reacted.
“It was terrifying ‘cuz when that happened, it started to erupt in chaos,” Bennett said.
She quickly approached the young man who had spoken with her daughter.
“He said that there were some guys with masks and then I see them getting into a car and they had masks on,” said Bennett.
Bennett said it was eerily similar to the description of the teens involved in Saturday’s shooting at the carnival. However, Billings Police can not yet say if the two incidents are connected.
She said the Little League evacuated all the kids to a safe place, but neighbors like Melissa Walls aren’t surprised to hear about the incident.
“With everything that’s going on, it makes Billings very scary. You don’t want to let your kids out to play,” Walls said.
Walls said her nieces and nephews spend a lot of time on the South Side and constantly see a barrage of teenagers at the park at night.
“Seems like every time they frequent this area or try to come over here in the evening time, they’ve had trouble with other kids,” said Walls.
Bennett is also a kid’s ministry pastor at Elevation Church, just down the street from Saturday’s carnival shooting. She believes something needs to be done and is even offering counseling services for those affected by this weekend’s incident.
“I did have someone come up to me who actually knew the person who was killed, and she was in tears wanting to talk about what happened,” Bennett said.
She hopes others will join her in striving for change in the community.
“We need to make sure our kids have a safe place that they can go to, and I know the city can do better for our youth,” said Bennett.
