CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A Charlotte-area mom says summer fun ended abruptly, after a shocking assault at the hands of another mom.
Kelly Wilson says it started at Latta Park in Dilworth around 4 p.m. on Sunday. Wilson tells NBC Charlotte the other mom was angry her children were being splashed at the splash pad.
Wilson says that woman hit her multiple times, spit on her, and drove away.
NBC Charlotte went to the splash pad the next day on Memorial Day, when it was very busy with children playing. Wilson says her young boys were splashing around like everyone else the day before, but she says they simply chose the wrong children to play with.
“They might have been splashing a lot, but everybody was splashing a lot,” Wilson told NBC Charlotte.
Wilson says her two young boys, ages 3 and 6, splashed three girls who were also at the splash pad at Latta Park. Wilson says one of the girls got particularly upset.
“I'm going to say she was about 9, she started cursing and threatened to punch my 3 and 6-year-old,” Wilson said.
That’s when Wilson says she and her sons got their belongings and walked up the steps to leave the park. Meanwhile, Wilson says the three girls went to tell their mother what happened while she was sitting in her vehicle. Wilson tells NBC Charlotte that moments later, there was a brief exchange of words before the angry mom attacked her.
“The little girl said, ‘Your boys were splashing me’. And I said, ‘It's a splash pad – he's three’,” Wilson said. She said that's when the other mother made a move. “And before I knew it, she had taken her fist upside my head, knocked me to the ground, landed on top of my three-year-old in the road. (I was) just shaken, my kids were screaming, of course.”
Wilson says bystanders saw what happened and asked if she needed help, but she said the ordeal did not end there.
“Another man saw, he called the cops," Wilson told NBC Charlotte. "Then she came at me again, hit me from the back and then spit on me."
Wilson says the whole time, her maternal instincts were kicking in.
“My priority was get my boys safe out of here," Wilson said. "So she drove off from what I hear."
On Monday, Wilson’s children were back in their bathing suits, but this time they were headed somewhere else.
“Everybody played together well, it's just the random few that ruin it for everybody,” Wilson said.
Wilson says she had some bruises to her head after being hit. She says she does not plan to return to the park anytime soon because of the incident.
“The mother did not hesitate to hit me so this is something I feel like she's done before,” said Wilson.
Wilson says she filed a police report about the assault. NBC Charlotte reached out to the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department for information about the case. CMPD said officers did respond to reports of a fight at Latta Park and spoke with a woman who had an altercation with another female.
CMPD said the person whom officers spoke to did not wish to report the incident, so there is no public report. NBC Charlotte reached back out to Wilson, who said she made it clear to officers she wanted to file a police report.
Stay with NBC Charlotte for the latest on this developing story.