HOUSTON – A peaceful picnic at Hermann Park turned out to be anything but for one family Sunday.
Sommer Rios was enjoying the afternoon with her family when she said a naked man seemed to appear out of nowhere.
"Then he started taking his clothes off one item at a time," Rios said. "He just got completely naked."
Then the man reportedly began to growl, grunt and chase Rios' family who was sitting nearby. The man ran after her 4-year-old son, who was forced to run into the busy street to get away.
"My worst fear was him getting hit," Rios said. "I kept screaming for him to come back. When I (had) seen my son going towards the road, that was it."
Rios said the man also punched and pushed another woman, who was standing nearby and she fell to the ground.
An off-duty police officer saw what was happening and was able to tackle the man with the help of a bystander. They held him down until the Houston Fire Department arrived and took him to the hospital.
"I just think he was crazy or on something because he was not acting normal," Rios said.
Houston police told Local 2 the man may have taken some narcotics. His case will likely be referred to the mental health division.
Rios hopes police take his actions seriously. She said her youngest son can't sleep after what happened and someone could have gotten hurt.
"He slept with us last night. He keeps asking, 'Why was that man chasing me?' There were thousands of kids out there, they don't need to see that," said Rios.