In the wake of a rare hog attack in Chambers County that left a Liberty woman dead, local law enforcement tonight will join Texas A&M AgriLife Extension for a population control initiative that involves shooting swine at a local park.

As part of the effort, AgriLife employees and Chambers County Sheriff's Office deputies over the next two days will shoot and kill hogs in Double Bayou Park, a large forested area roughly 60 miles east of downtown Houston. The event continues overnight through Friday morning, according to county spokesman Ryan Holzaepfel. Participants will suppress their weapons to muffle the noise, but nearby residents may still notice bright lights, loud noises or gunshots, he said.

He said the event was primarily spurred by the recent death of 59-year-old Liberty native Christine Rollins, who was attacked in late November by a group of wild hogs at a home along State Highway 61 in rural Chambers County. Rollins was the caretaker for the elderly couple who lives there, and one of the residents found her dead in the front yard, deputies said.

After the attack, Chambers County residents complained of an uptick in hog activity, Holzaepfel said.

“Obviously (hog activity) is on everybody’s mind because of the attack, and then when we see such increased activity going on, that heightens the feeling that we need to take action,” he said.

Officials view the park as a hotbed for such activity, he said. Holzaepfel couldn’t provide an estimate of the number of hogs in the area, but he noted there’s evidence of hogs digging up vegetation throughout the park. The recent surge in complaints centers around hogs digging up people’s plants or flower beds, he said.

Only four fatal wild pig attacks have ever been reported in the United States, including three instances where the pig was injured during a hunt, according to a study published in 2013 from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Feral hogs are considered an invasive species or "nuisance animals" in Texas. Their takeover of the state has been well documented. They tear up lawns and plants, poop in the water supply and skulk around highways, according to a 2017 report in the Dallas Morning News.

Texas landowners can get rid of a hog in their property by any means necessary, including shooting, snaring, trapping and capture with dogs trained for that purpose, according the AgriLife Extension website.

julian.gill@chron.com