A U.S. Navy veteran named Tony Janssens helped apprehend one of the suspected shooters at a Kansas City Chiefs parade after gunfire erupted.
Janssens identified three suspicious individuals, one with an injured jaw, handing off a backpack.
When they fled, Janssens alerted a state trooper and gave chase, shouting for others to tackle the man.
Tony Janssens said, “It didn’t sound like fireworks to me.”
“And then I heard another couple of rounds go off, and then that’s when I dropped to the ground again. I looked over to my right where the shots were coming from, and I see a guy lying on the ground with a couple of bullet holes at his side, and he’s already kind of lying down. I kind of understand the severity of the situation,” he recalled.
Janssens continued, “So people are still deciding whether it’s fireworks or, you know, what’s going on. They’re starting to pull up their phones just trying to record stuff. I’m telling everyone, people just to get away. Like, this is real life. You need to get out of here. Like, don’t just sit here and try to record or anything. So I’m telling people to leave, leave, leave.”
“I wasn’t expecting to try to go out and do anything heroic or anything like that and just kind of kicked on,” explained Janssens.
“I actually am Catholic,” added the lifelong Chiefs fan.
Janssens said, “I felt like I had a guardian angel there with me. I was literally ten feet from it.”
“The only reason I kind of really ran after him was just because I really kind of saw the whole thing develop. So I feel like I was one of the persons that could identify the man if he was trying to get away. I just didn’t want him to get away, and I just didn’t want to hurt anyone else,” explained the veteran.
“So I took off . . . and I’m jumping barricades, we’re running down the street, and I’m trying to clear people out the way. I’m yelling as I’m chasing after him, ‘Get this guy, get this guy.’ And then he jumps over one more barricade, and he realizes he can’t go any further the way he’s running. So he starts to run back towards me.”
“Kansas City is a great city. You know, people support each other here. I love the city. And it was just a mistake that happened. You know, these things happen. We’re in 2024, you know, these are the things that you have to be more vigilant,” advised Janssens.
“Every day. You go to a grocery store, you go to a big venue, a large gathering. It’s just something from the military that I understand, but I think as civilians, you should understand, too, that you have to be looking out for these things nowadays,” he concluded.
Four men helped tackle the suspect until police arrived. Janssens also spotted an AR-style rifle and magazines near the scene.
While urging better security, Janssens said he hopes to attend if the Chiefs win again next year, saying his military training kicked in to help prevent further harm during the attack that wounded 22 people and killed one.
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