Oklahoma City police responded to a report of shots fired near SW 10th Street and Robinson Avenue at Scissortail Park on Friday night, and as of Saturday morning investigators had not released information about whether anyone was hurt or what led up to the incident. The location sits at the heart of Lower Scissortail Park's athletic complex, an area anchored by the Sports Pavilion and its soccer pitch, futsal court, basketball courts, and pickleball courts.
According to News 9, the outlet's crews were headed to the scene Friday night to gather more information as the investigation unfolded. The station's report, published just before 10 p.m., did not indicate whether police had identified a suspect or a victim, leaving key questions about the incident unanswered for now.
A Park With a Recent History of Gunfire
Friday's shots-fired call is not the first time gunfire has interrupted activity at Scissortail Park's athletic grounds. In May, Oklahoma City police responded to gunfire at the park where a 15-year-old was grazed by a bullet and a 13-year-old male suspect was arrested, followed minutes later by a second shooting near Reno and Robinson avenues that led to the arrest of a 16-year-old male suspect, as detailed in Hoodline's earlier report on teens arrested near Paycom Center.
The park has also seen gunfire tied to major public gatherings. In August 2025, Oklahoma City police charged 20-year-old Kaziya Penn with assault and battery with a deadly weapon for a shooting the previous June that injured a 14-year-old boy following an Oklahoma City Thunder Finals celebration at the park, according to a statement from the City of Oklahoma City. Detectives in that case used NIBIN ballistic testing on a handgun seized during a traffic stop to link the suspect to the shooting.
A Flagship Park Bordering Downtown's Busiest Corridor
Scissortail Park is a 70-acre, $132 million urban green space built through Oklahoma City's citizen-approved MAPS 3 sales-tax initiative, with a 40-acre Upper Park completed in 2019 and a 30-acre Lower Park completed in 2022, per the City of Oklahoma City. The lower section extends south toward the Oklahoma River and incorporates native prairie landscaping, walking promenades, stormwater rain gardens, and hundreds of native trees, according to MetroFamily Magazine.
The park sits directly adjacent to major downtown entertainment infrastructure, including the $288 million Oklahoma City Convention Center along Robinson Avenue and the Paycom Center arena just blocks north, placing it at the center of some of downtown's heaviest foot traffic. Scissortail Park operates daily from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. under the non-profit Scissortail Park Foundation, which maintains dedicated Park Ambassadors and a Chief Safety Officer for on-site security concerns, according to the Scissortail Park Foundation.
State Gun Laws and Past Police Response
Under Oklahoma House Bill 2597, signed into law in February 2019, adults 21 and older who can legally own firearms may carry concealed or unconcealed handguns without a state permit, according to the Office of Governor J. Kevin Stitt. The law, which took effect on November 1, 2019, still maintains firearm restrictions in schools, sports arenas, and government buildings, but leaves broad public spaces like Scissortail Park's open lawns and courts largely unrestricted for lawful carriers.
Following a violent incident and shooting response in the downtown park corridor in June 2025, Oklahoma City Police Chief Ron Bacy publicly commended multi-agency law enforcement coordination, underscoring joint patrols between the Bricktown division and surrounding patrol units during large gatherings. Whether similar coordinated patrols were in place Friday night has not been addressed by police.
The city has continued investing heavily in the park even as safety concerns persist; Oklahoma City's MAPS office advanced plans in June for a $16 million renovation contract for Union Station, the historic landmark in the Upper Park that serves as the departure point for public park tours, as Hoodline previously reported on the Union Station makeover. For now, investigators have not said whether anyone was hurt in Friday night's shooting or what circumstances preceded it, leaving the case open as police continue to gather information.
