A Hammond man was sentenced to 15 years Friday after admitting he killed a man at MLK Park last summer, court records show.

Darren Ferguson, 40, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, a level 2 felony.

Ferguson admitted he shot Jullius Brooks, 39, of Hammond, at Martin Luther King Jr. Park after the man got physical with his 10-year-old son during a pickup basketball game.

Hammond police, after getting called to the park at around 7 p.m. Aug. 13, found Brooks lying on the ground with gunshot wounds to his back and right arm, a probable cause affidavit reads. A witness told police he saw a man speed off in a white SUV and several woman leaving in a blue van, court records said.

Police found a white Mercedes SUV and blue Dodge Caravan registered to Ferguson blocks away, court records said. Officers took him into custody when he came out and found an unloaded .40 caliber Glock handgun on him, the affidavit said.

According to court records, Ferguson told police he’d let his 10-year old son go to MLK Park from between 2 and 4 p.m. on Saturday, but the boy came home saying a man was pulling his hair and throwing balls at him. Ferguson, police said, took his Mercedes to the park and confronted a man his son pointed out to him, the affidavit said.

The two were talking as Brooks was standing on a picnic table when Brooks grabbed a bag and turned away from Ferguson, surveillance video indicated. When Brooks turned back, Ferguson pulled a gun on him, court records said.

Brooks then started running when Ferguson started firing, according to the affidavit.