Former Vols OL Trey Smith has strong and honest comments in the aftermath of the Kansas City parade shooting
Trey Smith was celebrating with the rest of his Kansas City teammates and adoring Chiefs fans on Wednesday afternoon. Minutes later, the former Tennessee Vols lineman was consoling a child in the midst of another mass shooting in this country. Three people have reportedly been arrested in connection with the shooting at the Chiefs' championship parade […]
Trey Smith was celebrating with the rest of his Kansas City teammates and adoring Chiefs fans on Wednesday afternoon.
Minutes later, the former Tennessee Vols lineman was consoling a child in the midst of another mass shooting in this country.
Three people have reportedly been arrested in connection with the shooting at the Chiefs' championship parade on Wednesday. As many as 11 of the 30 injured being treated are reportedly children. One person has been confirmed dead as of late morning on Thursday.
While Smith was calm in the moment on Wednesday – reportedly sitting with a child and sharing the championship belt he sported at the parade with the child – he shared his emotions on Good Morning America on Thursday, and he didn't hold back.
"I'll be honest with you, I'm pretty angry," Smith said. "Because it's senseless violence. Someone lost their life today. Children are injured. Children are traumatized. I'm hurting for, one, the families of the people who got impacted, the city of Kansas City, and this community. It's a great community."
Smith explained to the Good Morning America crew that he and long snapper James Winchester ended up in a closet with a number of people, including the child that Smith comforted, which he explained in more detail.
"Right before I ran in there, there was a little kid in front of me, so I just grab him, just yank him, tell him 'you're hopping in here with me, buddy'. I don't know how many people there were in the closet, maybe twenty, plus one of my teammates, my long snapper James Winchester, was instrumental in helping keep people calm. We end up getting the green light to be able to get out of there. We end up walking to the buses.
"This little boy was with his father, and he was just a little hysterical. He was just panicked. You know, he's scared. He doesn't know what's going on. And I had the WWE belt on me the entire parade, and I was like, what can I do to help him out? I just handed him the belt. Hey buddy, you're the champion. No one's going to hurt you, man. We've got your back.
"We just started talking about wrestling. Who's your favorite wrestler. What's your favorite wrestling match. Just little things like that just to take his mind off of it. He was looking out the window, and he was just seeing people reacting in a way they were trying to get out of that situation. So I'm like, 'here you go, buddy. This is yours. Again, no one's going to hurt you when you're here with us. We're going to keep you protected, buddy. You're A-ok. You're going to be alright.'"
That's one situation that no one – especially a child – should ever have to find him or herself in. Sadly, that's becoming far too common in America today.
Fortunately, the child had Smith and Winchester with him during the terrible ordeal, who should be commended for their actions, along with the other Kansas City players who reportedly stepped up in the moment.
Chiefs players react to shooting at Super Bowl LVIII parade and rally
A tragic day in Kansas City.
