Jacob Gooch: Kansas City Chiefs parade shooting victim recalls hearing a woman tell shooter ‘don’t do it’

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI: Jacob Gooch Sr was one of the 30 people who were injured in a mass shooting that occurred after the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl victory parade on Wednesday, February 14.

Gooch said on Thursday, February 15, that he witnessed a woman trying to stop a man from firing his gun at the crowd.

Woman pleaded with shooter during Kansas City Chiefs parade before he opened fire

Gooch said he heard a woman say to the shooter, “Don’t do it, not here; this is stupid.” He then saw the man pull out his gun and start shooting randomly.

"My daughter said that some lady was like holding him back, and people had started backing up, and then he pulled it out and just started shooting and spinning in a circle,” he told CBS.

Gooch, his wife, and his son were all hit by bullets. He said his wife was shot in the calf, and he was shot in the ankle, breaking some bones in his foot.

He did not reveal his son’s injuries or condition. The shooting also killed Lisa Lopez-Galvan, a local radio DJ who hosted a show called ‘A Taste of Tejano’ on KKFI 90.1.

Two victims injured in the Kansas City Chiefs parade shooting remain in critical condition

At University Health Truman Medical Center, two of the eight gunshot victims remain in critical condition, according to CNN.

The hospital received a total of 12 patients that were brought on Wednesday, some of whom had other injuries related to the shooting, not gunshot injuries. 

There is no update available yet on 13 patients who were brought to Children's Mercy Hospital and the University of Kansas Health System according to the outlet. 

Chiefs player Trey Smith helped calm children during shooting

Trey Smith, an offensive lineman for the Kansas City Chiefs, was also at the scene of the shooting. He said he helped some children find safety in a closet when the gunfire erupted.

“Right before I run in there, there’s like a little kid in front of me, so I just grabbed him — just yanked him — (and) was telling him, ‘You’re hopping in here with me, buddy,’ so I don’t know how many people that were in the closet. Maybe 20-plus?” he told ABC.

Smith said he also gave his WWE championship belt, which he had brought as a prop for the parade, to a scared boy to comfort him.

“I just handed him the belt,” Smith said, telling the boy, “‘Hey, buddy, you’re the champion. No one’s gonna hurt you. No one’s gonna hurt you, man. We got your back.’”

He said James Winchester, the Chiefs’ long snapper, also helped keep people calm.

Travis Kelce says he is heartbroken as Kansas City Chiefs called it a senseless act

The Chiefs organization issued a statement expressing its sorrow over the shooting and calling it a “senseless act of violence.”

Travis Kelce, the team’s star tight end, posted on X, saying, “I am heartbroken over the tragedy that took place today."

"My heart is with all who came out to celebrate with us and have been affected. KC, you mean the world to me,” he added.

Kansas City Chiefs safety Justin Reid has called on leaders to address gun violence. “This 🤬 is SAD man! Kids are being shot and somebody didn’t come home tonight. We cannot allow this to be normal."

"We cannot ourselves to become numb and chalk it up to 'just another shooting in America' and reduce people in statistics and then move on tomorrow," he wrote on X. 

Reid called on leaders to find solutions to gun violence to protect future generations.

“This is a SERIOUS PROBLEM!! I pray our leaders enact real solutions so our kids’ kids won’t know this violence,” he wrote.