Wednesday’s Super Bowl celebration for the Kansas City Chiefs turned tragic when gunfire broke out around 2 p.m. local time near the Union Station parking garage.
One woman was killed, and 22 others were injured, including 11 children.
In an interview with "Good Morning America," Chiefs offensive lineman Trey Smith described the chaotic scene as he ran for shelter.
CHIEFS RELEASE STATEMENT AFTER FATAL SHOOTING NEAR SUPER BOWL PARADE: 'SENSELESS ACT OF VIOLENCE'
"I just remember the security guards ushering us through the doors quickly, saying, 'Come on, hurry up, hurry up, hurry up,'" Smith said.
Smith told GMA he hid in a closet and guided others to safety.
"Right before I run in there, there was a little kid in front of me," Smith told GMA. "So, I just grabbed him, yanked him up, and tell him, 'You're hopping in here with me, buddy,' I don’t know how many people there were in the closet. Maybe 20-plus.
"But my teammate, my long-snapper James Winchester, was very instrumental in helping keep people calm."
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
Smith said they were eventually allowed to walk to the team buses, which were filled with paradegoers.
One young fan was "panicked," so Smith found a way to comfort him by giving him his WWE championship belt.
"This little boy was with his father," Smith said. "He was just a little hysterical. He just panicked. He was scared. He doesn’t know what’s going on.
"I had the WWE belt on me the entire parade. What can I do to help out? I just handed him the belt. ‘Hey, buddy. You're the champion. No one is going to hurt you. No one is going to hurt you, man. We got your back.’ We just started talking about wrestling."
On Thursday, doctors with University Health said five of the eight gunshot victims they received were discharged Wednesday night, while three remained in the hospital. Two of the victims were in critical condition but were said to be improving.
"I’m pretty angry because it’s senseless violence," Smith told GMA. "Someone lost their life today. You have children that are injured. You have children that are traumatized. I'm hurting for, one, the families of the people who got impacted, the city of Kansas City."
While multiple suspects have been detained, no charges have been filed.
Fox News' Stepheny Price and Timothy H.J. Nerozzi contributed to this report
