'Things could have been a lot worse,' says daughter of Paul Contreras, who helped subdue armed man at parade
Bystander speaks out after tackling Kansas City shooting suspect: 'It was chaotic'
Paul Contreras and his daughter, Alyssa Marsh-Contreras, join 'America's Newsroom' to discuss the moment Paul tackled one of the Super Bowl parade shooting suspects.
The Nebraska man who helped tackle an armed man at the scene of the deadly Super Bowl parade shooting in Kansas City described the "chaotic" scene Friday, saying he knew he had to keep the man down once he saw a gun on the ground.
One woman died and 22 others were injured by the gunfire that rang out during Wednesday's parade, nine of whom were children.
In a video that made the rounds on social media, a horde of people are seen fleeing from the scene after shots rang out, including a man in a gray sweatshirt. The man is then taken down by a group of fans, including Paul Contreras, who described the moment on "America's Newsroom."
"It was chaotic, and we were walking toward the bridge and then it kind of came to a stop, everybody in front of me was not walking anymore," Contreras recounted.
"This gentleman to my right that is on the bridge is just screaming at the top of his voice to stop this guy. Tackle him, stop him, whatever, and I see somebody running in my direction, so I had a good angle. I tackled him from behind. As I’m taking him down from behind, I see a gun laying on the ground, so I knew right then and there I've got to take him down and I've got to keep him down because if he has one gun, he may have another one."
Law enforcement personnel investigate following a shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs NFL football Super Bowl celebration in Kansas City, Mo., Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024. Multiple people were injured, a fire official said. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann)
He described the suspect as wearing a large jacket and then another person took him down from the waist and helped keep him restrained until law enforcement arrived.
Alyssa Marsh-Contreras, who captured the aftermath on her phone, said she had the reaction to begin recording in case anything went wrong when her dad tackled the suspect.
Paul Contreras, who drove two-and-a-half hours to attend the parade celebrating the Chiefs' championship, stayed at the scene briefly with his family but after no one from police talked to him, he told his daughters it was time to "get out of here."
"America's Newsroom" host Dana Perino asked Alyssa how it made her feel that her dad potentially saved lives with his action.
"It's scary to think about now," she said.
"Things could have been a lot worse, you know, if he didn’t step in. But I’m thankful he didn’t think, he just reacted. I think for everybody in that moment it was that fight or flight, and we all decided we had to fight. We see this second offender running, you know, without hesitation, he helped tackle him down because, like I said, things could have been way worse."
CHIEFS RELEASE STATEMENT AFTER FATAL SHOOTING NEAR SUPER BOWL PARADE: 'SENSELESS ACT OF VIOLENCE'
Paul Contreras and Alyssa Marsh-Contreras on "America's Newsroom" on February 16, 2024. (Fox News)
Perino called her father "remarkable" and thanked them for their actions and sharing their story.
"Thank God you did," Perino said.
In the video taken by Alyssa, officers can be seen subduing him and two Chiefs fans are heard saying "we tackled him."
"When we tackled him, the gun came out," a male fan says.
A victim is aided after shots were fired near the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl LVIII victory parade on February 14, 2024, in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)
The video appears to show an officer cornering an object with his foot against a concrete barricade, saying, "I got the gun."
Kansas City Police told Fox News on Thursday there are two juveniles currently in custody connected to the shooting. A third juvenile was determined not to be involved and was released. Investigators are now working with juvenile prosecutors to review investigative findings to determine charges.
Police have ruled out terrorism as a motive, saying the shooting appears to have occurred due to a dispute between several people that turned into gunfire.
Fox News' Greg Wehner, Ryan Morik and Stepheny Price and Timothy H.J. Nerozzi contributed to this report.
