Security guard describes ‘chaos’ during shooting at Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl parade

Stephanie Sommerkamp witnessed the chaos that ensued after gunfire erupted at the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl parade

A security guard who was working at Union Station has described the “chaos” that ensued when gunfire set off panic in the crowd at the Kansas City Chiefs‘ Super Bowl parade.

Stephanie Sommerkamp, 59, was acting as a non-armed observer for the celebration when the shooting began outside Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri, in the early afternoon of 14 February.

“All of a sudden, people were screaming ‘they’re shooting, they’re shooting!’ and running into Union Station. That was chaos,” Ms Sommerkamp, who is a registered nurse, told The Independent. “There was a lot of people out there, and they just started flooding in... so I dove behind the stone wall where I was stationed. We had no idea what was going on, if shooters were coming in.”

“A woman that had run inside — got basically thrown to the ground – had a laceration above her left eye,” Ms Sommerkamp continued. “I treated her, took care of the bleeding, and eventually, when they were ushering people out of the building, helped her to the door.”

Police clear the area after shots were fired after the celebration of the Kansas City Chiefs winning Super Bowl LVIII. (via REUTERS)

After sheltering in place for a time, event staff gathered in the entrance to an outdoor plaza northwest of the station building, where a replica dinosaur skeleton stands in the middle of the traffic circle. But while waiting for instructions, they heard gunshots and had to hit the ground, Ms Sommerkamp said.

She and the other staff members ended up sheltering in the station until nearly 5pm – along with an older woman who had arrived on a train from one of Kansas City’s suburbs and could not leave.

During that time, Ms Sommerkamp said, she prayed for everyone to get through the incident safely. She and the other staff were mostly calm, with many having come from military or law enforcement backgrounds.

“We did what we could, and we’re alive. I’m grateful,” she told The Independent.

At least 22 people were wounded, including eleven children, in the shooting. Nine of the children sustained gunshot wounds and are all expected to make a full recovery. Three suspects have been detained in connection with the shooting and firearms have been recovered, Kansas City police chief Stacey Graves said at a news conference.

Lisa Lopez-Galvan is the only confirmed victim of the shooting as of Thursday morning. The 44-year-old mother of two and local radio DJ died during surgery while doctors operated on a gunshot wound on her abdomen, The Kansas City Star reports.