During an appearance on Good Morning America, Chiefs offensive lineman Trey Smith opened up about the Wednesday, February 14, shooting in Kansas City, noting that the Super Bowl parade started “just like last year” — until gunshots were fired.
“I just remember the security guards ushering us through the doors quickly, saying, ‘Come on, hurry up, hurry up, hurry up,'” Smith, 24, told GMA on Thursday, February 15. “They said, ‘This is not a joke. It’s a life and death situation.'”
After learning of the active shooters, Smith recalled taking shelter in a closet and helping usher others to safety.
“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,'” Smith said. “I don’t know how many people were in the closet, maybe 20-plus.”
Shortly after the parade wrapped on Wednesday, news broke that gunshots had been fired near the west end of Union Station while the city was celebrating the Chiefs’ Super Bowl 25-22 overtime victory against the San Francisco 49ers. A local radio station later announced that DJ Lisa Lopez-Galvan died in the shooting.
Smith noted that Chiefs long snapper James Winchester was “very instrumental” in keeping “people calm.” Once they got approval to safely leave the closet, Smith headed to the Chiefs’ team buses, which were filled with bystanders — including a young boy.
“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.'”
Smith recalled talking with the young fan about wrestling and “little things” to take his mind off of the events.
“He was looking out the window. He was seeing people reacting, trying to get out of the situation. I’m like, ‘Here you go, buddy, this is yours,'” Smith said of the WWE belt. “No one is gonna hurt you. You’re here with us. You’re going to be A-OK. You’re going to be all right.'”
In the wake of the tragedy, Smith shared he’s “pretty angry.”
“Due to senseless violence, someone lost their life …. Children are injured. Children are traumatized. I’m hurting for, one, the families of the people who got impacted, [and two,] the city of Kansas City,” he said.
He continued with a message for Kansas City, saying, “Our hearts go out to you guys. We will continue to pray for you. At the end of the day, Kansas City is a great city. We’re going to stand up together and we’re going to be strong.”
Us Weekly confirmed Children’s Mercy Kansas City is treating 12 patients from the shooting, 11 of whom are minors ages six through 15. Nine of the victims are suffering gunshot wounds. All are expected to recover. There are an estimated 21 people injured overall.
