Things to know about the shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl celebration
19 February 2024
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (WDAF) — Kansas City Chiefs running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire is being rewarded for his efforts during the aftermath of the Super Bowl celebration on Wednesday.
Kansas City native Penny Cotten posted on Facebook, detailing how the 24-year-old kept her son safe during the mass shooting after the rally and that her son Zach was having “the time of his life” at the celebration.
As a result, the Uvalde Foundation For Kids, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to ending school violence & formed after the Robb Elementary School mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, added CEH to their list of National HEROISM AWARD recipients.
Edwards-Helaire joins Wichita native Trey Filter as an award recipient who is credited for tackling, disarming and detaining one of the shooters that resulted in 23 people injured by gunfire including one death.
The foundation is also further reviewing the events and interviewing several witnesses to add to their “Heroism Roster” from the event.
Edwards-Helaire posted his version, stating that Zach was brave during the moment.
“Sorry the family and all of ChiefsKingdom had to experience this,” Edwards-Helaire wrote. “Just wanted to Thank Zach for trusting me and knowing I’ll protect him.”
Edwards-Helaire is one of several Chiefs players who are telling their stories about sheltering children during the shooting.
Chiefs offensive guard Trey Smith told Good Morning America that he saw a frightened boy with his father and used his WWE title belt to comfort the boy.
“I was thinking, what can I do to help him out?” Smith said in an interview Thursday. “I just handed him the belt: ‘Hey buddy, you’re the champion. No one’s going to hurt you, man. We’ve got your back.’”
Smith also said long snapper James Winchester “was very instrumental in keeping people calm.”