A day of celebration for young Chiefs fan Gabe Wallace would have turned into a nightmare if Andy Reid wasn’t there to protect him. On February 14, Wallace, a sophomore of Shawnee Mission East, attended the Chiefs Super Bowl victory parade at Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri.
After the parade ended with speeches from quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce, several gunshots were heard. Initially mistaken for fireworks, the crowd started panicking after realizing that they were wrong.
It created a frenzy among the people present. The 800 police personnel and FBI quickly mobilized to apprehend the perpetrators. One Chiefs fan heroically tackled one of the alleged gunmen helping with the capture.
Wallace and his friends were right in the thick of it. They got scattered in the chaos and finally managed to group up when things settled down a bit. When a few reporters asked him about the incident, he revealed that the cops were shouting to run away and get to a safe place.
The security guard was like, ‘Get over the damn fence right now; there’s a shooter. I hit my face by accident. We went to Union Station. I had no idea if my friends were okay.
Wallace said
During the interview, Wallace was still trying to connect with his friends. He was later able to get in touch. But before that, he revealed that, amidst the chaos, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid helped him stay safe.
Andy Reid was trying to comfort me. He was kind of hugging me, just like, ‘Are you OK, man? Are you okay? Just breathe. He was being really nice and everything.
Gabe Wallace, a sophomore at Shawnee Mission East, heard the gunshots and hopped a barricade, scraping head on the concrete. He lost track of his friends.
On what he was thinking? “My friends are dead.”
Said Andy Reid hugged him. “He trying to comfort me.” pic.twitter.com/arcWCm7ytu
— Sam McDowell (@SamMcDowell11) February 14, 2024
Andy Reid and the rest of the Chiefs players were evacuated safely
The Kansas City Police confirmed that at least two individuals opened fire inside Union Station around 3:30 p.m. local time. As a result, 22 people were injured, of whom 11 were children aged between 6 and 15. Fortunately, their injuries were not life-threatening, as per the Children’s Mercy Hospital.
Kansas City police are seen at Union Station, where a shooting broke out during the Chiefs Super Bowl victory rally on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024, in Kansas City, Missouri. (Image via IMAGO)Chiefs Vice President of Sports Medicine and Performance, Rick Burkholder, confirmed via X (formerly Twitter) that Andy Reid and his family were safely evacuated.
My wife and I along with Coach Reid and his family are safe and on a bus headed to Arrowhead. 🙏🙏🙏🙏
Thank you to @kcpolice and others— Rick Burkholder (@proatc) February 14, 2024
Mahomes and the rest of the Chiefs players had already left the stage before the shooting began. The authorities estimated that 1 million people gathered to watch the parade to celebrate the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl win. Later, Kansas City’s mayor, Quinton Lucas, confirmed that all the Chiefs players, staff, and their family members were accounted for.
