Kansas City Chiefs’ Marquez Valdes-Scantling offers to help 11 kids injured in parade shooting
Kansas City Chiefs star Marquez Valdes-Scantling wants to help out the children injured in the shooting at the team’s Super Bowl victory parade “any way I can,” he said on Wednesday.
The wide receiver put out a call for assistance to track down the young victims after officials announced that half of the 22 people hospitalized in the tragedy were between the ages of 5 and 16.
“Any chance anyone can help me get in touch with these kids or families? First off I want to make sure they’re doing ok,” Valdes-Scantling, 29, said on X.
“But would love to help them out any way I can and get them some stuff from the team to help with the recovery.”
A rep for Valdes-Scantling confirmed to The Post Thursday that the NFL star was actively working to connect with the young victims and their families, but declined to comment on the project — saying he didn’t want to center himself and that the charity “was about the victims.”
The 11 hospitalized children — including nine suffering from gunshot wounds — are expected to make full recoveries, officials from Children’s Mercy Hospital reported.
A total of 22 paradegoers were injured when three alleged gunmen fired on the west side of the city’s landmark Union Station.
Mother-of-two Lisa Lopez-Galvan, a dedicated Chiefs fan and local disc jockey, was killed in the attack.
The shocking gunfire set off a frenzy of panicked revelers bolting for safety, a chaotic disruption that was captured in multiple videos and even a television taping.
In the face of the confusion, several other Kansas City Chiefs stars calmed panicked kids after they all took shelter together after the shots erupted.
Offensive lineman Trey Smith handed over his team’s WWE title belt to a young boy, who appeared frightened beside his father.
“I was thinking, what can I do to help him out?” Smith told “Good Morning America” Thursday.
Follow The Post’s coverage of the mass shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl parade and the arrest of the shooting suspect:
- Lisa Lopez-Galvan, Kansas City Chiefs superfan and mom of 2, killed in Super Bowl parade shooting: ‘Most wonderful, beautiful person’
- Heroic Kansas City Chiefs fans tackle fleeing suspected gunman after Super Bowl Parade shooting, wild video shows
- Revelers recall terrifying moment gunfire erupted at Kansas City Chiefs parade: ‘Felt like a sitting duck’
- All 12 children injured in Kansas City Chiefs parade shooting discharged from hospital: ‘Great news’
- Two adults charged with murder in deadly Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade shooting
- Alleged KC Chiefs parade shooter told cops he was ‘just being stupid’: court docs
- COLUMN: Super Bowl parade shooting turning celebration into crime scene changes everything
“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.'”
The team’s coach Andy Reid also stepped into action to comfort 10th-grader Gabe Wallace while the two hunkered down together.
“Andy Reid was trying to comfort me, which was nice,” Wallace told The Kansas City Star. “He was kind of hugging me, just like, ‘Are you OK, man? Are you OK? Just please breathe.’ He was being real nice and everything.’
“He left to check on other people, I’m pretty sure.”
Police said the mass shooting was the result of a personal dispute that exploded into violence that had nothing to do with homegrown terrorism or violent extremism.
Two of the three suspects are juveniles, according to cops.
