Chiefs parade survivor heard fight break out before getting shot: ‘I collapsed’
Written by ABC Audio All Rights Reserved on February 18, 2024
(NEW YORK) — Jacob Gooch and his family were among the 1 million fans enjoying the Chiefs’ Super Bowl celebration in Kansas City, Missouri, on Wednesday when they heard a fight break out.
“We hear a lady saying, something like, ‘Not now, this isn’t the place,’ or something, and pushing this guy back,” Gooch told ABC News. “Then all of a sudden, we hear pop, pop, pop pop, pop, pop — you know, the gunshots.”
“I get hit — and I’m thinking fireworks, in my head. So I look down — I see smoke coming out of my ankle, people rushing me,” he said. “I turn to try to start running and I collapsed to the ground, because, obviously, I couldn’t run.”
Gooch, his wife and his 13-year-old son were all shot and are recovering from gunshot wounds to their feet and legs.
“You just don’t expect it to happen to you, but it’s happening so much,” he said. “It’s ridiculous.”
One person was killed and 22 were hurt in Wednesday’s mass shooting, which police said appeared to stem from a dispute.
Two juvenile suspects are detained. Officials are now working with juvenile prosecutors “to review investigative findings and determine applicable charges,” a police spokesperson said Thursday.
Killed in the shooting was Lisa Lopez-Galvan, a DJ at local radio station KKFI 90.1 FM.
The 44-year-old leaves behind her husband and two young children.
“We woke up this morning excited and the last thing we ever expected was to have a tragedy in our family,” her brother, Beto Lopez, told ABC News.
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