It was a terrifying time at O'Fallon Park for Community Activist, Precious Jones.
The park is located near West Florissant and Pope Avenue in north St. Louis.
"Lots of things raced trough my mind at the time. I just felt we were getting ready to die," Jones said.
Her 9-year-old nephew also experienced the scare of his life.
"I just kept thinking about my cousins, my aunts, all of my family members, " said Prince Jones.
Tiffany Palmer and her 8-year-old daughter were also there.
"I feared for my life, my child's life. It was really scary," said Palmer.
Around 9:30 Thursday night, the group had just left a community meeting at O'Fallon Park Recreational Complex and walked outside. They started chatting with Missouri State Rep. Kimberly Ann Collins when suddenly about 20 gunshots rang out around them.
They said it sounded like a war zone.
The startled state rep immediately yelled to everyone to take cover. Jones had been recording their conversation and captured audio of the chaos.
"She shouted 'they're shooting! They're shooting!' I couldn't believe that in the midst of a conversation about community development, gun violence and the community's needs, that happened, " said Jones said.
Jones and her nephew ran and hid behind some bushes.
"A bullet went fast," said Prince Jones.
It whizzed right by the third-grader's head.
"I dropped to the ground and balled up. I was really scared," Prince Jones said.
The frightened women called 911.
Police arrived but didn't find any shooters or evidence of a shooting.
"We don't want anyone to be the victim to gunfire or hear gunfire, but what I can say is if you're hearing gunfire, call us. We will come. There is a strategic plan that we have in place tracking gunfire," said Mitch McCoy, a spokesman for the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department.
At this point, police don't know if it was a shootout, a drive-by shooting or just random shots fired off at the park.
What is clear, Precious Jones and Tiffany Palmer are so relieved that they and their little loved ones survived.
"I am extremely glad that God protected us," said Precious Jones.
There is a YMCA inside the O"Fallon Park Recreational Complex. A spokesperson says it was closed when the gunshots rang out.
The YMCA's full statement is below:
"We are aware gunshots took place in O'Fallon Park on Thursday night around 9:30 pm. The O'Fallon Park Rec Complex was closed at that time and no Y-run programs were being held. Individuals who were at the facility for a meeting were leaving the building when they heard the gunshots. They called 911 and waited for the police to arrive."