Chiefs player offers support to little boy during Super Bowl victory parade shooting

In the most dangerous situations, a few words of comfort can go a long way for any person. Kansas City Chiefs player Trey Smith became a hero to a boy after offering him a few simple words of comfort during the shooting that broke out after his team was doing their victory parade on Wednesday. He recalls how he came to know about the active shooter as he and his teammates were exiting the stage at Union Station, per Good Morning America. The security guards told the players that it was a "life and death situation."

Almost 21 people were injured, along with one woman being killed as a result of gunfire. So far, the Kansas City police have detained three individuals who have some connection to the shooting. People were scared and running around after the shooting took place, which is when Smith and his teammate decided to stay safe in a closet while helping others to safety. Just as he was about to enter and take shelter, he noticed a small boy in front of him.

Smith scooped up the boy and took him into the closet with him. There happened to be roughly 20 people in the space, and he remembers seeing a particularly shaken-up boy who was with his father. Smith said, "He was a little hysterical. He just panicked. He was scared. He doesn't know what's going on." The Chief's player wanted to do something to calm the boy down and decided to give him the WWE belt that he wore during the victory parade.

Giving it to the boy, he told him, "Hey buddy, you're the champion. No one is gonna hurt you. No one's gonna hurt you, man. We got your back." To ease his nerves, Smith started asking the boy questions about wrestling. The poor boy was becoming more scared as he looked out the window and Smith's distraction probably helped him deal with it. He will most likely never forget Smith's gesture for the rest of his life.

Smith also expressed how he was angry at the "senseless violence" that had taken place, with children being injured and traumatized from the whole incident. He concluded by saying, "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. We're going to stand up together and we're going to be strong."

Mass public shootings seem to be a very concerning problem in the US. Thankfully, a high school teacher from Michigan, Carly Zacharias (@crzachar), wanted to take a few extra steps to protect her students by handing out hockey pucks for self-defense in an active shooter situation. The video, which has sparked quite a bit of debate, has been taken down. Most people on social media commended her for preparing students for a worst-case scenario.

While others highlighted how school shootings were making it extremely difficult for American kids to peacefully get their education. Zacharias' tips came in a few months after a shooting took place at Oxford High School, which was located in the same county she taught in. A student of the school killed four people and injured seven others. The teacher was quick to clarify that her measures were not criticizing the schools about their safety measure but rather about preparing students for an emergency.