Fists Fly Over Parking Spot at the Houston Zoo

A trip to the Houston Zoo turned ugly when adults got a bit wild in the parking lot. Linda Padilla and her husband, Jason, were taking advantage of the zoo’s free entrance day on Tuesday afternoon when they witnessed an argument between two women that quickly turned into an all-out brawl. Linda, who recorded the mayhem on her cellphone, said the commotion was over a parking spot.

“It was a beautiful day and [my husband and I] just wanted to spend it together. We decided to go down there and it’s traffic jam central,” she said.

Padilla drove her car into one of the packed parking lot aisles and waited for a spot to open up.

“This one lady from a few aisles over comes running out of her car and stands in front of the free parking space,” she said.

According to Padilla, this woman attempted to hold the parking space while her family drove around. That’s when a car directly in front of the spot tried pulling into the space and the woman whacked the car, Padilla said. The female driver then got out of her car and a shouting match ensued. Linda said the family members of both women jumped in to break up the fight, but quickly got caught up in the brawl — which also involved hair pulling.

“Everybody was saying, 'I can’t believe this is happening over a parking spot…it’s not worth it!'” Padilla remarked. "That’s how it is when you cut in front of someone. They don’t appreciate it, not in Houston. The animals are outside the zoo."

By the time police arrived, the fight was over and the two women decided not to take any action against each other, according to John Cannon, a spokesperson for the Houston Police Department.

The Houston Zoo released this statement, “While the parking lot outside the Houston Zoo front entrance is not owned or managed by the zoo, we were disappointed to see the behavior displayed by the adults in the video. The safety and security of our guests is our priority and we work diligently with our staff and HPD to ensure visitors to the Houston Zoo are safe.”