Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid and his family are safe and heading on a bus to Arrowhead Stadium following a fatal shooting at their Super Bowl parade, a team staffer has confirmed.
At least 22 people have been wounded and one has been killed in a horror shooting at the Chiefs’ parade on Wednesday, after two gunmen opened fire around Union Station shortly after 3:30pm.
Just after the likes of Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes had left the stage, police evacuated the train station as huge crowds fled in panic when the shots rang out.
Burkholder posted on X: ‘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’.
Chiefs spokespeople did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com’s request for comment about the safety of other team coaches, players and staff.
The team’s Vice President of Content and Production, Robert Alberino Jnr, later announced that their ‘production crew, game day crew cheer team, flag team and mascots’ were all safe after the shooting.
Alberino added: ‘Sad state of affairs. Enough of this.’
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas then confirmed that all Chiefs players and staff are safe and accounted for.
A Kansas City-area high school student said Reid, who was celebrating his third Super Bowl win in five years as Chiefs head coach, hugged him as the shooting unfolded during Wednesday’s parade.
Gabe Wallace, a sophomore at Shawnee Mission East High School, reportedly said that the Kansas City legend comforted him during the madness.
Speaking to Kansas City Star columnist Sam McDowell, Wallace said he ‘had no idea if my friends were OK.’
He said his only thoughts were ‘my friends are dead’ as Reid comforted him.
McDowell added: ‘It’s terrible.’
The teen said he was told by a security guard to ‘get over the damn fence’ to safety, and hit his face in the process.
Fans were seen scrambling from the scene when the gunshots initially rang out, with several people wheeled away in stretchers.
Police said they were releasing all of those inside Union Square around 15 minutes after the shooting unfolded.
Officers cornered an armed person inside an armed parking garage between the Westin Hotel and Union Station, reports KC Star reporter Glenn Rice.
Frantic scenes outside the station also included a man appearing to try and sprint from the crowd, before several men tackled him and pinned him to the ground.
The men who tackled the alleged assailant to the ground exclaimed: ‘We got him – we got the gun!’
A man in a red hoodie was pictured being arrested, although it is unclear if he was one of those involved in the shooting.
Patrick Mahomes led the prayers for Kansas City after a day of celebration for the Chiefs quickly turned into a nightmare.
Super Bowl MVP Mahomes shared a message to social media after the Chiefs were believed to have been escorted to Arrowhead Stadium.
‘Praying for Kansas City…,’ the quarterback posted to X, formerly known as Twitter.
More prayers began to filter in from the Chiefs players as safety Justin Reid also posted: ‘Praying for everyone in Kansas City at the parade.’
‘Praying for everyone today in Kansas City,’ Donovan Smith shared, while guard Trey Smith added, ‘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.’
Chiefs linebacker Drue Tranquill, 28, also urged fans to join him in prayer in a message shared to social media.
‘Please join me in prayer for all the victims in this heinous act,’ the Chiefs player posted.
‘Pray that doctors & first responders would have steady hands & that all would experience full healing.’
