KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A few Kansas City Chiefs players sprang into action as they looked to escape the shooting after Wednesday's Super Bowl celebration.
Chiefs offensive guard Trey Smith told "Good Morning America" that he saw a frightened boy with his father and used his WWE title belt to comfort the boy.
"I was thinking, what can I do to help him out?" Smith said in an interview Thursday. "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.'"
Smith talked to the boy about wrestling to take the boy's mind off the frightening scene after they were loaded onto a bus. He said more than 20 people were hiding in a closet with him, the boy and the boy's father.
"Right before I run in there, there's a little kid in front of me, so I just grabbed him and yanked him up and said, 'You're hopping in here with me, buddy,'" Smith said.
Smith also said long snapper James Winchester "was very instrumental in keeping people calm."
The Tennessee athlete was emotional in his interview, recalling the day that started in celebration and ended with sorrow.
"I'm pretty angry. Due to senseless violence, someone lost their life .... Children are injured. Children are traumatized," Smith said. "I'm hurting for, one, the families of the people who got impacted, [and two,] the city of Kansas City."
The two-time Super Bowl champion also went to X, formerly known as Twitter, to send his prayers to Kansas City along with several Chiefs players.
"Our hearts go out to you guys. We will continue to pray for you. At the end of the day, Kansas City is a great city," Smith said.
"We're going to stand up together and we're going to be strong."
In a separate situation, running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire also sheltered a boy during the shooting.
The boy's mother, Penny Cotten posted on Facebook, detailing how the running back kept her son safe during the chaos and that her son Zach had been having "the time of his life" at the celebration.
"Huge thank you to Clyde Edwards #25 for sheltering and getting my creep to safety," Cotten wrote on Wednesday. "Clyde even went back to check on Zach to make sure he was still doing ok. What a great human being!!!"
Edwards-Helaire posted his version stating that Zach was brave during the moment.
"Sorry the family and all of Chiefs Kingdom had to experience this," Edwards-Helaire wrote. "Just wanted to thank Zach for trusting me and knowing I'll protect him."
The 24-year-old stated that he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and had some advice for people when mentioning events like the aftermath of the celebration.
"For the kids in the KC area and parents, refrain from mentioning and bringing up traumatic experiences. Always think positive and when those bad days come, (because they will) comfort and knowing somewhere is with you is the best (Medication)."
The former first-round pick also had words of encouragement for fans.
"To all [of] the Kingdom! Smile today because we can always change tomorrow."