KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In a shocking turn of events, what was meant to be a day of celebration for two brothers from Omaha, Nebraska, turned into a nightmare as they found themselves caught in the shooting at the Chiefs rally at Union Station.
Lavetti Wainwright and D'Andre Kyle had driven down from Omaha to witness their first-ever Chiefs Super Bowl parade.
“I wasn't gonna go cause then all of a sudden, you know, I was like, ah, I don't wanna go by myself. So it was just spur of the moment," said Wainwright. "I ended up talking to my brother earlier in the morning. When I talked to him I was like, "I'm going down to Kansas City for the Super Bowl parade.”
Once Wainwright and Kyle arrived in Kansas City, they were met by a sea of red, fans excited to cheer for the team for another Super Bowl win.
“It was a great experience," said Wainwright. "Seeing all that sea of red, I'm like, man, they're really here, you know, to celebrate the team, and it was wild.”
But the celebration quickly turned into chaos when gunshots rang out. Lavetti said he was in disbelief for the first few seconds, but reality hit once he saw a sight he never thought he would ever see.
“I was like, the lady just gets shot. We was like in shock. I was like, what? And then next thing you know, everybody's running," said Wainwright.
In that moment the only thing he could do was make sure he and his little brother were okay.
“It's just chaotic, like hundreds of people running, running. He gets trampled. I'm trying to hide, like I'm holding on because I'm getting pushed and everything," said Wainwright.
On the ground, D'Andre remembered the very moment of being stepped over.
“I mean you can't quite describe how long it feels in that situation. Some of those things feel fast, some of those things feel slow, but I don't know. I was just, I was definitely petrified for sure," said Kyle.
Fortunately Lavetti and D'Andre were reunited and both made it to safety. They both now head back home with memories of the sound of gunshots, the visual of blood and the feeling of panic.
“I came out here for a good time and then it turned into a bad time in a snap," said Lavetti. "People are going to be more aware more self aware of what happened, That happened, I personally won’t be back.”
__
