Leland man one of hundreds of thousands in Kansas City during deadly parade shooting

KANSAS CITY, MO (WWAY) — A man from Leland was close by the Union Station in Kansas City when shots rang out on Wednesday afternoon.

Originally from Kansas City now living in Leland, David Johnson went back to his hometown to enjoy the victory parade celebrating the Chiefs’ Super Bowl win.

He, along with his family including a nine-year-old boy, were walking towards Union Station when Johnson felt like they should turn around.

They stopped to get a bite to eat about a block away from the station when the shooting happened.

“Everybody hit the deck. I’ve never seen anybody in a bar, a packed bar, everybody’s celebrating, watching on monitors. Everybody drops to the floor,” said Johnson.

Johnson’s cousins had stepped outside of the restaurant when the fear set in. His cousins’ husband, Damon Wilson, says he saw a wave of red coming towards him as people donning Chiefs gear ran away from Union Station. Running towards Union Station were officers in Kansas City SWAT uniforms.

“We were expecting to have more good times. We were getting some famous Kansas City barbecue and enjoying ourselves,” said Johnson. “The next thing you know, my cousins step out and people are rushing the other way, machine guns are going down the street.”

“I brought my nine-year-old son with us. I never thought I was putting him in danger,” said Wilson.

Fortunately, Johnson and his family got out of the chaotic situation without injury. Even as they felt fear as the incident unfolded, Johnson says he felt they would be okay. Unfortunately, he says he was immediately devastated knowing that would not be true for everyone involved.

“It’s senseless and unnecessary, especially in an environment where you have so many people coming together and loving on one another and being kind and generous,” said Johnson. “That’s the disappointment because that’s what Kansas City is about. That’s what the heartland of America is about. It’s about people loving one another, coming together, and having community. People coming in and disrupting that, that’s not what Kansas City is about. So let that not be a record of this event.”

While Kansas City may be hurting today, Johnson knows his hometown will come together and get through it together.