At 1:21 p.m. Sunday, Three Rivers Police Department (TRPD) officers were dispatched to Scidmore Park, responding to a report of a man with a gun and a possible kidnapping. 

Deputies from the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s office assisted, and with their help, TRPD officers were able to determine that a child custody dispute was taking place. According to a TRPD press release, “the dispute turned physical and one of the parties pulled a firearm.”

Commenters on the incident on social media — who claimed to be witnesses to the event — alleged that one or more citizens blocked one of the subjects from leaving the park prior to TRPD’s arrival. Watershed Voice reached out to TRPD to confirm those claims, and while Det. Sgt. Sam Smallcombe did not refute that detail, he could not confirm it either, as it wasn’t in the initial report of the incident.

One of the parties was taken into custody for a concealed carry violation and a felonious assault charge. The St. Joseph County Prosecutor’s Office is seeking assault and battery charges for other involved parties in the incident.

Dave Vago is a writer and columnist for Watershed Voice. A Philadelphia native with roots in Three Rivers, Vago is a planning consultant to history and community development organizations and is the former Executive Director of the Three Rivers DDA/Main Street program.