10-Year-Old Boy Shot at Chiefs Super Bowl Parade Says He's 'Going to Get Flashbacks'

Mar. 15, 2025

Samuel Arellano, Bullet narrowly misses lung of boy injured in Chiefs rally shooting

KSHB 41/YouTube

A 10-year-old boy is opening up about his harrowing experience during Wednesday afternoon’smass shootingat the end of the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl parade.The boy, Samuel Arellano, was shot in the ribs. At least 23 people were shot, and one person died. The deceased has been identified asLisa Lopez-Galvan, a 43-year-old mother and beloved local radio DJ.

Samuel and his family spoke with local television stationKSHBon Thursday, as the 10-year-old boy explained the pain he experienced after getting shot.

“It felt like getting stabbed,” Samuel told the outlet. “It could’ve been inches from my whole future.”

Samuel and his family said the boy was separated from his mother and walking with his grandfather after the parade when the gunfire began to ring out.“We’re walking, and then we see people fighting, and then they pull out a gun and start shooting,” Samuel said. “One of them hit me while I tried to face toward my grandpa and my uncle and my cousin.”

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The family says they didn’t realize their son had been shot at first. Crowds of people scattered after the shooting began, and Samuel ran over to hide behind a trash can. He told KSHB that he thought back to the active shooter training he learned in school once he realized what was going on.

The family initially thought his rib pain was from getting stepped on, showing KSHB a photo of his redPatrick Mahomesjersey that still had a footprint on the back of it.

Law enforcement and medical personnel respond to a shooting at Union Station during the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl LVIII victory parade on February 14, 2024 in Kansas City, Missouri. Several people were shot and two people were detained after a rally celebrating the Chiefs Super Bowl victory.David Eulitt/Getty

Law enforcement and medical personnel respond to a shooting at Union Station during the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl LVIII victory parade on February 14, 2024 in Kansas City, Missouri. Several people were shot and two people were detained after a rally celebrating the Chiefs Super Bowl victory.

David Eulitt/Getty

The family called an ambulance, and the 10-year-old boy was treated at Children’s Mercy hospital. At least nine of the juvenile victims were treated at the hospital, which said Thursday that it expects all of those children to fully recover from their injuries.

But Samuel and his family say they may never recover from the trauma they experienced.

“Looking at the (bullet) hole,” Samuel told KSHB. “I’m just going to get flashbacks.”

Law enforcement and medical personnel respond to a shooting at Union Station during the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl LVIII victory parade on February 14, 2024 in Kansas City, Missouri. Several people were shot and two people were detained after a rally celebrating the Chiefs Super Bowl victory.Jamie Squire/Getty

Law enforcement and medical personnel respond to a shooting at Union Station during the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl LVIII victory parade on February 14, 2024 in Kansas City, Missouri. Several people were shot and two people were detained after a rally celebrating the Chiefs Super Bowl victory

Jamie Squire/Getty

Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves told reporters on Thursday that more than half of the 22 surviving victims were under the age of 16.

Two of the three suspects police took into custody after the shooting were juveniles, as well. No charges have been filed yet, though an update on the investigation is expected Friday.“This is absolutely a tragedy, the likes of which we could’ve never expected in Kansas City,” Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, who almost broughthis 3-year-old sonto the parade, told reporters Wednesday. “The likes of which we will remember for some time.”

source: people.com