Teenager Gabe Wallace, a Shawnee Mission East sophomore, said Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid helped him amid the chaos during the shooting at a Super Bowl parade Wednesday.
Wallace attended the Chiefs’ celebration rally at Union Station with his friend Hank Hunter as well as some other pals. Then, gunfire erupted. The group of friends were separated from one another as everyone scrambled to take cover. At some point during the panicked scene, Wallace was injured and bloodied, and he said Reid was kind enough to help, according to the Kansas City Star.
“He was kind of hugging me, just like, ‘Are you OK, man? Are you OK? Just please breathe,'” Wallace recalled.
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Gabe Wallace, a young individual at Shawnee Mission East, was startled by the sound of gunshots and quickly leaped over a barricade, unfortunately injuring their head on the concrete. He seemed to have misplaced his friends.
What was going through his mind? “My… pic.twitter.com/HC7ZsGVHWq
— World Sport 24 (@WorldSport24com) February 15, 2024
Wallace played back the scene in his mind and remembered the kindness of strangers. Getting support from Reid after a shooting was the last thing he imagined would happen when he set out to celebrate that day.
“Andy Reid was trying to comfort me, which was nice,” Wallace told the Kansas City Star, before his voice cracked and tears filled his eyes.
Wallace explained the brief interaction he had with his favorite team’s head coach.
“He was being real nice and everything.”
PHILADELPHIA – JANUARY 07: Head coach Andy Reid of the Philadelphia Eagles shouts from the bench during their NFC Wildcard Playoff game against the New York Giants on January 7, 2007 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Doug Benc/Getty Images)
“He left to check on other people, I’m pretty sure,” he said.
Travis Kelce’s mother, Donna Kelce, was also part of the parade and said she was whisked away from the dangerous scene quickly, but that was not the case for Wallace and his friends.
“Everybody who was with the team, they got us out of there really fast,” Donna said, according to the Kansas City Star.
Wallace said he remained inside Union Station, without knowing the fate of his friends.
He explained the terror he experienced.
“My friends are dead — that’s what’s going through my mind,” Wallace said, according to the Kansas City Star. “I’m literally thinking, ‘What if my friends are dead? … Are they alive, or are they just lying there on the floor just bleeding out?’ I have no idea,”
Police at the secured scene of Wednesday’s Chiefs Super Bowl parade and rally shooting have used folding chairs left at Union Station to spell out a message of hope and support for Kansas City. pic.twitter.com/tswjFsrJPs
— KMBC (@kmbc) February 15, 2024
Hunter shared what he experienced as the frightening scene unfolded.
“We were right up on the front of the fences, far left side, like right above the barricade,” he said. “We heard shots and there were rumors going around. Everyone started getting down. And me and my friend Gabe, we jumped over the fences.”
Wallace said he heard “boom, boom, like real quick,” before a security guard shouted, “Get over the damn fence right now. There’s a shooter.”
“Then my face nailed the concrete,” Wallace said. (RELATED: Travis Kelce Slammed For Reportedly Partying After Super Bowl Parade Shooting)
He was reunited with Hunter a half hour later at the corner of Main Street and Pershing Road after his exchange with Reid.