Families fearful and frustrated after kids forced to take cover during mass shooting at Super Bowl rally

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - The deadly mass shooting that erupted outside Union Station right after the World Champion Chiefs players left the rally stage happened in front of countless children on Wednesday.

“You got kids down here. You got families down here and nobody’s coming down here thinking that they’re going to have to worry about getting shot or the potential getting shot,” said Catherine Simpson.

Schools across the metro canceled school so kids could attend. One of them was Simpson’s son, Jaylen Jones.

The Lee’s Summit 12-year-old went to the parade with his mom and three of her friends. They made it a special moment, staying in a fancy hotel to be close and staking out their spot at 7 a.m. There, they made new friends in the four hours of anticipation for the parade’s start.

“We were able to be in it and it was just all positivity,” said Stephanie Elmore, one of Simpson’s pals.

It was a good day with gorgeous weather and a lot to celebrate. They got up close for the rally, standing so close to the stage that they could barely see above it.

“We were like having fun and stuff, just watching them over there on the stage,” Jaylen said, “and then all of a sudden, we see people like just running.”

LIVE BLOG: Shooting at conclusion of Chiefs’ rally at Union Station leaves 1 dead, 22 wounded

They said they never heard gunshots, but what they saw alerted them to take cover.

“People were I mean dropped down, ducking, crying, holding onto their kids. Some people lost their kids,” Simpson described.

“I wasn’t crying or anything,” said Jaylen. “I was just kind of scared. But then my mom calmed me down.”

Simpson and her friends found themselves calming adults as well.

“There was kids and people laying flat on the ground,” said LaQuanna Johnson. “This one girl she was so terrified, she was like grabbing the leaves. You could just see the fear that she had and she was shaking so bad and she couldn’t and her mother just was like in shock. She couldn’t even move.”

They were able to escape safely, but they remain troubled Wednesday night. “I am pretty upset because I don’t know any type of people that would do this,” said Jaylen. “It’s just kinda like irritating because these are like innocent people just trying to have a good time.”

“It was a beautiful day and the highlight of it is a tragic moment,” Elmore reflected. “For the ones who lost their lives the ones that are injured, you know, we just pray for them, their families, and we’re just very thankful and blessed that it wasn’t us,” said Johnson.

Of the 22 people shot, nine were children between the ages of 6 and 15. Officials at Children’s Mercy Hospital said they are all expected to recover from their physical injuries.

In total, one adult died, 15 other individuals went to the hospital with critical injuries, and six had minor gunshot wounds according to the Kansas City Fire Department.