Nine children were among those shot at Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl celebration
Jacob Gooch Jr. had been enjoying the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl victory parade with his dad, stepmom and siblings when a gunman began shooting about 15-feet away from where his family was standing.
Jacob Gooch Jr. had been enjoying the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl victory parade with his dad, stepmom and siblings when a gunman began shooting about 15-feet away from where his family was standing.
The family ran in different directions, with Jacob, 13, losing his shoes as they scattered. It wasn't until later, when they reunited, that he realized he'd been shot — among a dozen children who had been injured in the shooting and its aftermath. A bullet is still lodged in his foot.
His father, Jacob Gooch, 37, and stepmother, Emily Tavis, 32, both of whom were also shot, relayed accounts of the day, describing their horror and devastation as the celebration in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, on Wednesday, turned into tragedy.
Emily Tavis, left; her stepchildren Kyndall Roberts and Levi Gooch; her partner, Jacob Gooch; and his son, Jacob Gooch Jr., celebrate at the Kansas City Chiefs' rally Wednesday.Emily Tavis“It’s just senseless. You’re not going to make sense of it,” said Gooch, who was shot in the right ankle and was using crutches Thursday. Tavis was shot in her right leg.
Jacob was one of at least 12 children injured Wednesday. People under the age of 16 accounted for half of the more than 20 people injured, Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves said at a Thursday morning news conference. The injured range in age from 8 to 47, the chief said.
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