KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Chiefs fan from Nebraska says he helped tackle a suspected shooter outside Union Station following the Chiefs Kingdom Champions Victory Parade rally Wednesday afternoon.
Paul Contreras was with his three daughters when chaos broke out at Super Bowl celebrations in Kansas City, Missouri. One person was killed and 22 victims were injured in the shooting.
"I just heard somebody yelling to stop this guy, tackle him and he was coming in the opposite direction," Contreras 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 he was the first to tackle the man before another "good Samaritan" helped him keep the suspect pinned to the ground before police came.
"He's just fighting to get up, but we're fighting to keep him down," he said.
Contreras said said the struggle "seemed like a long time" but it probably only lasted 15 to 30 seconds before police arrived.
"I'm standing there for about a minute or two, me and the cops didn't even have one or two words. Once they had him and got him cuffed, I sat there for two minutes with all my three daughters and then we just walked away, we headed toward our car."
Contreras said he didn't see the suspect fire the gun, but that tackling him was just a reaction.
Contreras' daughter, Alyssa Marsh-Contreras, said she knew something was wrong when she saw the crowd scatter and run.
"I didn't want to leave my dad's side, cause who knew what could've happened or if they needed help," she said. "So, I was just there to make sure his hat, his phone, his wallet didn't go missing in the process of him getting this offender down."
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