YORK COUNTY, Pa. — A road trip to attend what was supposed to be a celebration to remember, turned into an experience a York County Kansas City Chiefs fan will never forget for the wrong reasons.
Dallastown resident Tim Gray has been a Kansas City Chiefs fan for more than 20 years. For the second year in a row, he and a friend made the more than 15-hour drive to Kansas City for the Super Bowl Celebration but- unlike 2023- this time Tim found himself in a situation he never imagined being in, last week's Super Bowl parade shooting.
"There were murmurs [in] the crowd, I heard the word shooting," said Tim. " I never really thought I'd ever be in a situation like that."
Tim had joined up with friends he had met at last year's Super Bowl parade. They wanted to take one last picture before wrapping up their celebrations when they noticed something was wrong.
"We decided to take a picture together because I wasn't sure if I'll see them again anytime soon. That's when we noticed things weren't right," recalled Tim. "As I'm walking out through the shroud of FBI agents and police were everywhere. More and more ambulances just kept coming. It was five, six ambulances. And each new thing that I saw made it sink in, this was something serious."
The shooting that killed one and injured more than two dozen happened less than 200 feet away from where Gray took the picture with his friends and in the direction they were heading.
"That's the part that really bothered me because I knew if I didn't take that picture or if certain things that happened the way they didn't happen, I could have been right in the middle of it. Not only me, but my friends too," said Tim. “If we didn't stop to take those pictures... it could have been life-changing."
Tim and his friends left the scene and saw the national headlines on TV. It was then, hours later, that the magnitude of what happened really sank in.
"For maybe a few hours, I didn't know how close we were," said Tim. "Once I did figure out how close we were it hit me hard."
During the shooting, Tim knew he had to call home to notify his family but with bad reception in the area, his call left his mom wondering if his son was safe.
"She only heard the wind, the sirens, and the word shooting and then our call cut out," said Tim. "She went into full panic mode."
"A lot of people, especially family [gave me] some big hugs when I came home," Tim recalled. “But when [my mom] got home, I got a big hug. It was a rollercoaster of emotions for her more than me, I think because, like I said, I was ignorant to the fact of what was going on at first. When I said shooting to her, and that's all she heard she, rightfully so, was a bit upset."
A situation that, upon reflection, has left Tim wondering, what could have been.
"When we finally took a step back and realized everything, it brought me down to earth a little bit," said Tim. "It made me realize that sometimes you take things for granted."
He hopes it's something that other people will never have to experience. But if they do, they find themselves the help they need.
"That's the main reason I wanted to spread awareness. People go through things and they need help," said Tim. "I want people to get the help that they need, and not to be afraid to ask for it. And to just not be discouraged from living their life. If I can help one person that's what makes it all worth it because that person could be me someday."
Attached below is the full interview with Tim Gray: