Veteran details chasing down Kansas City Chiefs parade shooter, credits military training, 'guardian angels'

Tony Janssens, a lifelong Kansas City Chiefs fan and U.S. Navy veteran, said he pointed out three suspicious individuals to law enforcement. One took off running, and he pursued chase, yelling out to fellow fans there to help, "tackle this guy!"

A U.S. Navy veteran who jumped into action when gunfire erupted at the Kansas City Chiefs' parade Wednesday spoke to Fox News Digital, recounting how he identified and chased down some of the shooters – hopping over barriers and running through the crowd – until he shouted to other NFL fans there, who managed to tackle at least one of the attackers.

Tony Janssens, a lifelong Chiefs fan who's lived in Kansas City since the end of 2020, said he had extensive training during his time in the military on active shooting scenarios, including what to do in the event of a shooter at the pier or shooters breaching a naval ship. The veteran, who left the Navy in 2016, said instinct kicked in upon leaving the parade, walking through an intersection with others in the crowd, when suddenly three to four shots rang out. At first, some thought the sound was fireworks, but not Janssens. 

"It didn't sound like fireworks to me," he told Fox News Digital. "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. 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