When gunshots rang out at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl victory rally Wednesday, many in attendance fled in panic. But some brave citizens were quick to put their lives at risk in order to prevent others from potentially being harmed.
Trey and Casey Filter told Scripps News they were among those on the scene who tackled and safely disarmed at least one suspect before police arrived. Trey recalls hearing someone shout "get him" and didn't hesitate to spring into action.
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"We heard, you know, the gunshots. However, at that time we thought it was like somebody being a jokester with maybe some fireworks," he said. "In my brain, I wasn't thinking anyone there would have an automatic rifle."
But that's exactly what Trey remembers seeing when he and others struggled to subdue the alleged suspect.
"There was talk of there being a gun and things kind of escalated from there," he added. "My wife, in fact, grabbed the gun that they were talking about, which ended up being an assault rifle."
Casey said she initially couldn't believe the gun was real because she'd never expected someone to bring a weapon to an event like this, where hundreds of thousands of people were gathered to celebrate.
"Once I picked it up I realized it was a real gun and so I just moved it," she said. "Honestly, it was just a reaction. I didn't feel like I needed to run away. I saw my husband subduing the guy and then my kids, I was worried about where my kids were. It was just a very chaotic moment."
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Paul Contreras was in town with his three daughters when he too intervened to disarm the alleged gunman. While he doesn't recall seeing the suspect fire the gun, Contreras said the decision to tackle him was just a reaction.
"I just heard somebody yelling to stop this guy, tackle him, and he was coming in the opposite direction," he said. "You don't think about it, it's just a reaction. He got close to me, I got the right angle on him, and I hit him from behind. And when I hit him from behind I either jarred the gun out of his hand or out of his sleeve, cause as I'm taking him down to the ground, I see the gun on the ground."
Contreras said the struggle "seemed like a long time" but it probably only lasted 15 to 30 seconds before police arrived.
The Kansas City Police Department responded to the shooting near Union Station around 2 p.m. local time. As the Chiefs players and personnel wrapped up their celebratory rally, attendees quickly dispersed, and then ambulances were seen rushing to the scene along with officers who had their guns drawn.
Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves said three people were in custody but did not disclose their identities as the investigation is ongoing.
One person was killed and more than 20 others, including children, were wounded in the shooting. Graves said during a press conference Thursday it appears to have been "a dispute between several people that ended in gunfire" and was not a targeted act of terrorism.
Additional reporting by Scripps News Kansas City.
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