Kansas City Chiefs player Trey Smith recounted the moments after shots rang out at the Super Bowl LVIII victory parade in Kansas City on Wednesday, leaving one person dead and more than 20 others injured.
During the NFL player’s appearance on “Good Morning America,” Smith talked about how the team was notified that there was an “active shooter” situation as they left the stage at the conclusion of the parade.
“I just remember the security guards ushering us through the doors quickly, saying, ‘Come on, hurry up, hurry up, hurry up,'” Smith said. “They said, ‘This is not a joke. It’s a life and death situation.'”
Smith said he and other players took shelter in a closet and grabbed others to get them to a safe location.
“I’m pretty angry. Due to senseless violence, someone lost their life today … At the end of the day, Kansas City is a great city. We’re gonna stand up together and we’re gonna be strong.”
Chiefs’ player @treysmith details the aftermath of the deadly Super Bowl parade shooting. pic.twitter.com/fQMNSbnvFR
— Good Morning America (@GMA) February 15, 2024
“Right before I run in there, there’s a little kid in front of me so I just grabbed him and yanked him up and said, ‘You’re hopping in here with me, buddy,'” the player told GMA. “I don’t know how many people there were in the closet, maybe 20-plus.”
“One of my teammates, my long snapper James Winchester, was very instrumental in helping keep people calm,” he added.
Smith also talked about how he helped calm one young fan amid the chaos.
“This little boy was with his father. He was a little hysterical,” Smith said. “He just panicked. He was scared. He doesn’t know what’s going on. 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.'”
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NFL reporter Albert Breer took to X after the shooting and reported how “unbelievable” the players were with helping calm fans down.
“The Chiefs left the parade in buses, and in shock,” Breer wrote. “I’m told players were UNBELIEVABLE calming panicked kids down. [Chiefs players] Blaine Gabbert, Trey Smith, Austin Reiter, Chris Oladukun all rallied.”
“Smith went to one upset kid, gave him the WWE title belt and sat with him until he calmed down,” he added.
Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid also helped in the aftermath of the shooting.
Teenager Gabe Wallace told “The Kansas City Star” that, “Reid was trying to comfort me, which was nice. He was kind of hugging me, just like, ‘Are you OK, man? Are you OK? Just please breathe.’ He was being real nice and everything.”
Wallace said Reid then “left to check on other people, I’m pretty sure.”
Later in the day, the Chiefs released a statement about being “truly saddened by the senseless act of violence.”
“Our hearts go out to the victims, their families, and all of Kansas City,” the statement read. “We are in close communication with the Mayor’s office as well as the Kansas City Police Department.”
“At this time, we have confirmed that all of our players, coaches, staff, and their families are safe and accounted for,” it added. “We thank the local law enforcement and first responders who were on the scene to assist.”