As of: February 15, 2024, 4:09 p.m
By: Alina Schröder, Romina Kunze
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On the sidelines of the Super Bowl celebration in Kansas City, one of the suspected attackers tries to escape.
A family man intervenes – and becomes a hero.
KANSAS CITY – It was supposed to be a day of joy and ended in tragedy.
Around a million people gathered in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, on Wednesday (February 14) to celebrate their football team and their Super Bowl win when suddenly shots were fired.
One of the visitors is Paul Contreras.
After the terrible events that left one dead and at least 21 injured, he is celebrated as an American hero.
Shots fired at victory celebration in Kansas City: Father overpowers suspected shooter
When panic broke out, the Chiefs fan reacted quickly - and tackled one of the suspected shooters to the ground until he could be arrested.
His story is a ray of hope on a pitch-black day in the USA, which is once again sparking discussions about gun rights in the country.
Contreras traveled to the metropolis with his three daughters from Nebraska, about a three-hour drive away.
As he said in an interview with
CNN
, they were on the way back to their car when there were several bangs.
At first the family thought it was fireworks as part of the celebration.
But after the visitors started running, they knew something was wrong.
Paul Contreras is one of those who subdued the suspected shooter at the Super Bowl parade in Kansas City.
© Montage: Screenshots/X @FFB_Fanatics
Kansas City hero describes moment: “It’s just a reflex”
“I heard someone shouting to stop the guy,” Contreras told
CNN
.
Then he saw a person rushing towards him and without hesitation pounced on him from behind.
“You don’t think about it, it’s just a reflex,” he said.
He then saw the gun on the ground.
“It must have fallen out of his hands or slipped out of his jacket sleeve,” said the father of the family.
A video recording on X (formerly Twitter) shows him wrestling with the alleged perpetrator on the ground.
He pressed his entire body weight onto the man, then another “good Samaritan” rushed to his aid.
Together, the two managed to keep the suspect at bay until the police arrived.
He is one of three people currently linked to the shooting who are in police custody.
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Man is celebrated for his efforts: “They are American heroes”
Alyssa Marsh-Contreras, Paul Contreras' eldest daughter, did not leave her father's side.
“I didn’t know what could happen,” she said.
She filmed with her cell phone shortly after the police arrived and finally made her father's crime public.
She told
ABC News
that she heard nine to ten gunshots on the way to the car, just a few seconds before her father intervened.
So far there has been one fatality and more than twenty people have been injured, including a number of children and young people.
As US media report, eight people are currently in mortal danger (as of February 15).
There is no precise information about the victims.
Due to the Super Bowl victory of the Kansas City Chiefs, around star quarterback Patrick Mahomes, school was canceled on Wednesday (February 14th).
Many in the US media and on social networks express their enthusiasm and gratitude for Paul Contreras.
“They are American heroes and should be treated as such,” one person wrote under the video clip on X about him and the unidentified second helper.
Another called for them to be invited to the White House.
Gun violence in the USA is increasing – Biden is calling for the laws to be tightened
US President Joe Biden himself has already commented on the terrible incident at the parade on Wednesday.
The Super Bowl is “the unifying event in America,” the statement said.
“The fact that this joy has turned into tragedy in Kansas City today is a deep cut in the American soul.”
Regarding the high level of gun violence in the United States, Biden addressed the population directly: “Make your voice heard in Congress so that we finally act to ban assault rifles, restrict high-capacity magazines, strengthen background checks and get guns out of hands of those who are not allowed to own them or handle them.”
Because rampages and shootings with several people injured or even dead are now a sad everyday occurrence in the States.
There were 627 of them in 2023 alone, as
ABC
reports.
The shooting in the state of Maine last October had the most victims - 18 people were killed.
(rku/asc)