Ellis family part of shooting scare in Mansfield, Texas

Apr. 25—MANSFIELD, Texas — This was no drill.

The crack of a gunshot — or at least what sounded much like a gunshot — rang through the air, followed by screams and mass chaos.

Catherine Ellis, a Vanoss Elementary teacher with 20 years of experience and numerous active shooter drills under her belt, said all that training didn't prepare her for the real deal. She and her husband, Randy Ellis, were inside the Field House in Mansfield, Texas to watch their freshman daughter Livi play with her AAU team, The Oklahoma Swarm.

The venue, with its eight to 10 basketball courts, was packed with players, coaches, and families. Catherine pushed her way through the panicked crowd while Randy rushed to grab Livi, her mind raced with a jumble of thoughts and emotions.

This was different from any drill she had ever been through.....This was real.

"It was awful. You just wanted out," Catherine Ellis told The Ada News as she and her family were heading home from the nightmarish scene. "At first, we just saw people running and then they started screaming 'shots, shots'."

None of the Ellis trio remember hearing the shot go off, but in a video she posted from a live stream of the game, it sounds like a gun was fired before pandemonium ensued.

It didn't take long for Randy — an assistant high school basketball coach at Vanoss — to grab Livi and almost drag her to the exit. At first, Catherine was headed to one exit and Randy and Livi to another. But Randy and Livi quickly caught up to Catherine and they made their way outside.

Livi, a freshman standout for the Vanoss High School girls basketball team, said when the panic first started, she thought all the uproar was caused by a fight that had started somewhere in the facility.

"I was on the bench and I started hearing screaming behind me and everyone started running onto our court. My first thought was it was a brawl," Livi recalled. "I started trying to find the fight ... and my coach turned around and said "go, go, go" so the four of us on the bench got up and started running. The first thing I see is my dad. He grabbed me and started pushing me toward the door. He had ahold of my jersey so I'm flying around and we finally get out the door. I didn't realize what was going on until I heard people yell 'shooter, shooter' and we started running for the door."

The family made it out of the gym, but instead of running for cover, Randy decided the safest bet would be to go back inside the mostly-empty Field House.

"I was at the door and peeked in and could tell there wasn't a lot of activity in there so I knew it would be safer inside," Randy explained.

Catherine said on the way out, she helped an older gentleman to the exit door and panicked when she saw a referee being carried out by three men.

"There was a lady that was pushed down in front of us trying to get up. There was a little old man that I was trying to help along because he could barely make it. I was pushing him out the door all the while trying to hold him up," she said.

"I flipped out more and started crying because I saw these three men carrying this female referee — of course, I think she's been shot — but I think she just got trampled. Luckily, no one was too badly hurt but it was definitely an experience," Catherine said.

Catherine said she heard rumblings that two men got into a fight inside the Field House. One of the men then went out to his car and it was confirmed by officials he did at least retrieve a gun from his vehicle.

As of press time, the Mansfield Police Department insists there were no shots fired during the incident.

"A parent and an opposing coach were asked to leave the location. As they went into the parking lot, one of the parties went to his car and got a gun. Officers identified both parties involved and it is still under investigation. It also should be noted that Investigators were able to determine that there were no shots fired," the police department said via its Facebook page. "There is a video posted by a citizen that sounds like a gunshot. If you look on the left side of the video, you will observe a male tripping over a table which caused a loud sound and then someone started to yell."

The police said both parties were identified and the investigation was continuing as of Sunday night.

Whether there were shots fired or not, the scene Sunday in Mansfield, Texas, will have a lasting effect on Catherine Ellis and her family.

"I have sat through so many trainings about active shootings and you can't imagine the feelings that you feel. I did not stay calm at all," Catherine said. "It's something I never want to live through again, ever."

The ultimate irony — Livi and the Oklahoma Swarm have another AAU tournament back at the scene of the crime next month. Catherine said the incident won't deter them from going back to watch Livi do her thing, but she hopes that security will be much better this time around. She would feel more comfortable with metal detectors at the entrances and a much bigger security presence.

In one media report, the Field House issued a statement regarding security at the venue.

"The incident serves as a reminder of the importance of safety measures and protocols in place at public venues. The Field House management has promised to review their safety protocols to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future," the report said.

When asked at what point she felt safe, Ellis said not until they were headed back to the Sooner State.

"I didn't feel safe until we got in the car and left. I don't think they had actually found the guy as we were leaving," she said. "Even though it didn't turn out to be as bad as we thought, at the time and at the moment ... it was bad. It was really bad."

The ultimate irony — Livi and the Oklahoma Swarm have another AAU tournament back at the scene of the crime next month. Catherine said the incident won't deter them from going back to watch Livi do her thing, but she hopes that security will be much better this time around. She would feel more comfortable with metal detectors at the entrances and a much bigger security presence.

In one media report, the Field House issued a statement regarding security at the venue.

"The incident serves as a reminder of the importance of safety measures and protocols in place at public venues. The Field House management has promised to review their safety protocols to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future," the report said.

When asked at what point she felt safe, Ellis said not until they were headed back to the Sooner State.

"I didn't feel safe until we got in the car and left. I don't think they had actually found the guy as we were leaving," she said. "Even though it didn't turn out to be as bad as we thought, at the time and at the moment ... it was bad. It was really bad."