After one person died and at least 21 were injured during a shooting after the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl parade on Wednesday, the team is being hailed for its response in the immediate aftermath.
Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer reported that the players had been “UNBELIEVABLE calming panicked kids down.”
The NFL insider specifically pointed out Blaine Gabbert, Trey Smith, Austin Reiter and Chris Oladukun.
People take cover during a shooting at Union Station during the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl 2024 victory parade. Getty Images“Smith went to one upset kid, gave him the WWE title belt and sat with him til he calmed down,” Breer posted on X.
Breer later added: “A lot of people impressed with what [Smith] and your teammates did on that bus.”
The shooting occurred near Union Station just after the team’s Super Bowl rally had wrapped up.
The team confirmed that the players, staff and their families were all accounted for.
Three people are in custody in connection with the shooting, Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves confirmed during a news conference.
Follow The Post’s coverage of the mass shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl parade and the arrest of the shooting suspect:
- Lisa Lopez-Galvan, Kansas City Chiefs superfan and mom of 2, killed in Super Bowl parade shooting: ‘Most wonderful, beautiful person’
- Heroic Kansas City Chiefs fans tackle fleeing suspected gunman after Super Bowl Parade shooting, wild video shows
- Revelers recall terrifying moment gunfire erupted at Kansas City Chiefs parade: ‘Felt like a sitting duck’
- All 12 children injured in Kansas City Chiefs parade shooting discharged from hospital: ‘Great news’
- Two adults charged with murder in deadly Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade shooting
- Alleged KC Chiefs parade shooter told cops he was ‘just being stupid’: court docs
- COLUMN: Super Bowl parade shooting turning celebration into crime scene changes everything
In a statement released by the Chiefs, the team had called the incident a “senseless act of violence” and were “saddened” by the event.
Chiefs chairman and CEO Clark Hunt holds the Vince Lombardi Trophy as their bus arrives at the victory rally. AP“Our hearts go out to the victims, their families, and all of Kansas City,” the Chiefs said in the statement. “We are in close communication with the Mayor’s office as well as the Kansas City Police Department.”
A number of Chiefs players have responded to the tragedy in posts on X.
“My thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by today’s incidents—a huge thank you to the first responders who ran towards the sound of danger. You’re the ones who should be celebrated today,” Smith wrote.
The city had expected roughly one million people to attend Wednesday’s celebration and more than 800 police officers were on site.
