The investigation into a mass shooting at the end of the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl parade and rally continued Thursday as details emerged about the role some of the Chiefs had in calming their community.
One person was killed and 21 injured – seven critically — in the shooting near a parking garage west of Union Station, where an estimated 1 million people had gathered as players and team personnel took the stage to celebrate with fans.
The wounded included nine children.
Stacey Graves, the city’s police chief, said Wednesday night three people had been detained. At a news conference Thursday morning, officials reported that indications are the shooting was a result of an argument between people attending the parade that resulted in gunfire, but Graves declined to provide further details as the investigation continues.
Earlier Thursday, speaking on “Good Morning America,” Chiefs offensive lineman Trey Smith recounted the horror and the role he and a teammate played in helping others.
“I just remember the security guards ushering us through the doors quickly, saying, ‘Come on, hurry up, hurry up, hurry up,'” Smith, 24, said about how he learned of the active shooter. “‘This is not a joke. It’s a life and death situation.'”
Smith said he and long snapper James Winchester found a closet to hide in along with 20 or so others, and he credited Winchester for calming others.
Smith said he also encountered a young boy frightened after the joyous festivities turned terrifying.
“This little boy was with his father. He was a little hysterical. He just panicked. He was scared. He doesn’t know what’s going on,” Smith said. “I had the WWE belt the entire parade and I was thinking, what can I do to help him out? I just handed him the belt and said, ‘Hey buddy, you’re the champion. No one is gonna hurt you. No one’s gonna hurt you, man. We got your back.'”
Gabe Wallace, a local high school student, attended the parade with a friend, and the two ran as they heard shots break out. He told The Kansas City Star how he wound up safely inside Union Station, where Chiefs head coach Andy Reid reached out to comfort him.
“He was kind of hugging me, just like, ‘Are you OK, man? Are you OK? Just please breathe,'” Wallace told the newspaper. “He was being real nice and everything.
“He left to check on other people, I’m pretty sure.”
–Field Level Media
