Cops: Heckscher State Park brawl leaves 1 in hospital

Two groups of visitors to Heckscher State Park Sunday were involved in a brawl that left one man hospitalized, police said.

Chief Richard O'Donnell of the New York State Park Police said that around 6 p.m. authorities got a report of "a large fight" at the park involving weapons.

When police arrived, O'Donnell said, they found one man with a head injury who was apparently the victim of an assault. The man, an Islip resident, was taken to a hospital. O'Donnell said he did not believe the injury was life-threatening.

There may have been other injured people, he said, who fled the scene.

According to witnesses, the brawl was between a smaller group of five men and their families, and a larger group of men and women.

O'Donnell said he did not know what sparked the violence.

No arrests have been made and police are investigating.

Anyone with information is asked to call State Park Police at 631-321-3700.