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Revelers recall terrifying moment gunfire erupted at Kansas City Chiefs parade: ‘Felt like a sitting duck’

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Social Links for David Propper
Published Feb. 14, 2024
Updated Feb. 14, 2024, 10:17 p.m. ET

Revelers at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl victory recounted the terrifying moment gunfire went off as one woman said she felt like a “sitting duck” and another, who is legally blind, described how a stranger pulled her to safety.

Panic, confusion and horror quickly engulfed the celebration when shots rang out near the parade route following the afternoon festivities, killing at least one person and wounding 22 more.

People flee after shots were fired near the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl LVIII victory parade.
People flee after shots were fired near the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl victory parade. AFP via Getty Images

Madison Anderes, who went to the parade with her brother and mother, told CNN they fled for their lives after initially believing the first round of shooting was a “string of fireworks.”

But when a man in front of them turned around and screamed, “He’s got a gun! He’s got a gun” the family started to run as a second, louder round of gunfire rang out.

“That’s when all chaos broke out,” Anderes, 24, told the network. “I felt like I was going to die, I felt like a sitting duck, and I was going to get shot.”

She was knocked to the ground as a stampede of people attempted to flee, but quickly got up and hid with her loved ones and about 10 other fans near a storefront.

A legally blind mother, who was with her partner and their son at the parade, said that when the commotion began, a stranger led her to safety after the trio got separated.

“He’s like, ‘Hey, shots fired,’ I’m like, ‘I am legally blind, can you please just help me get to safety?’ and he took me by my arm and he just took charge,” she said, according to NBC News.

“I’m extremely thankful for him, if he’s watching, thank you.”

She later found her 15-year-old son, who was safe, before they were reunited with the teen’s other mother.

“I don’t think he let me go for a good five to 10 minutes, which being 15 years old, I don’t get those hugs anymore,” the relieved mom said.

Kevin Sanders, 53, also thought he was hearing fireworks as people began to run. After the first series of loud noises boomed, calm settled in momentarily, and the Lenexa, Kansas, resident wasn’t concerned.

He only realized there was bloodshed when ambulances raced to the scene about 10 minutes later.

One woman said she thought she was going to die as she ran away.
One woman said she thought she was going to die as she ran away. AFP via Getty Images

“It sucks that someone had to ruin the celebration, but we are in a big city,” Sanders told the Associated Press.

Another woman, who was at the parade with her daughter, described how the pair tried to protect each other amid the chaos.

The witness, who only went by Amy, told NBC News she saw people frantically hopping over a gate when she heard there was a shooter.

Follow The Post’s coverage of the mass shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl parade and the arrest of the shooting suspect:

“So we just dropped to the ground,” she said as she recalled how her daughter “started to climb on top of me to protect me, and I tried to just hold her so nothing would happen to her.”

“Coming down here to celebrate on such a sad note, it’s devastating,” she told the outlet.

At least two people have been taken into custody so far, police said.