Revelers at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl victory parade Wednesday recounted the terrifying moment gunfire went off as one woman saying she “felt like I was going to die.”
Panic, confusion and horror quickly engulfed the celebration when shots rang out near the parade route following the afternoon festivities, killing at least one person and wounding 22 more.
Madison Anderes, who went to the parade with her brother and mother, told CNN they fled for their lives after initially believing the first round of shooting was a “string of fireworks.”
But when a man in front of them turned around and screamed, “He’s got a gun! He’s got a gun” the family started to run as a second, louder round of gunfire rang out.
“That’s when all chaos broke out,” Anderes, 24, told the network. “I felt like I was going to die, I felt like a sitting duck, and I was going to get shot.”
She was knocked to the ground as a stampede of people attempted to flee, but quickly got up and hid with her loved ones and about 10 other fans near a storefront.
Kevin Sanders, 53, also thought he was hearing fireworks as people began to run. After the first series of loud noises boomed, calm settled in momentarily, and the Lenexa, Kansas, resident wasn’t concerned.
He only realized there was bloodshed when ambulances raced to the scene about 10 minutes later.
“It sucks that someone had to ruin the celebration, but we are in a big city,” Sanders told the Associated Press.
Another woman, who was at the parade with her daughter, described how the pair tried to protect each other amid the chaos.
The witness, who only went by Amy, told NBC News she saw people frantically hopping over a gate when she heard there was a shooter.
“So we just dropped to the ground,” she said as she recalled how her daughter “started to climb on top of me to protect me, and I tried to just hold her so nothing would happen to her.”
“Coming down here to celebrate on such a sad note, it’s devastating,” she told the outlet.
At least two people have been taken into custody so far, police said.