Six months after he was shot at Chiefs Super Bowl rally, KC 11-year-old is still healing
Samuel Arellano stood beside his mom as his sisters brushed her hair. He had just came home from school in the Kansas City, Kansas, Turner School District, where he began the sixth grade this month.
His father came inside, greeted first by their small family dog at the front door. Hot air from a late-August afternoon followed him inside.
“Hey,” Antonio Arellano said, greeting his family after work. “Warm one today, huh?”
Samuel Arellano, 11, always had a close bond with his family, but it grew even stronger in the weeks and months after he was shot at the Chiefs Super Bowl victory rally in February.
Six months after a bullet pierced his rib, mere millimeters from his lung, Samuel is still nervous around crowds. But these days, he’s having fewer nightmares and panic attacks. And with the help of therapy, parts of his life are starting to feel normal again.
“He’s still a little boy,” Antonio Arellano said as he moved flower vases with cards from the dining room table. “He thinks he’s older now.”
Healing inside and out
The Arellano family was shaken in the aftermath of the February mass shooting, where nine children between 6 and 15 years old were among the 24 total injured in a spray of bullets. Two of those injured were alleged shooters.
Elizabeth “Lisa” Lopez-Galvan, 43, was killed in the shooting. Several others were hurt in a stampede as the crowd ran for cover.
Samuel attended the rally that day with his grandfather, uncle and cousin. When gunshots rang out, they fled and hid behind a truck west of Union Station.
In the months since, Samuel has processed trauma and emotions his parents never thought their child would have to endure. One of his three sisters has been attending therapy with him.
“It’s hard, but as time goes by, the therapist helped guide us in what to do and what not to do,” Antonio Arellano said.
Sitting between his son and wife at the dining room table, Antonio Arellano recounted just how much that day altered his family’s lives.
Samuel’s mom, Abigail Arellano, took time off work for weeks after the shooting. At the time, Samuel was sleeping in his parents’ room, which seemed to help with the nightmares.
But time off work to help their son cope meant less income. Both Abigail Arellano and Antonio Arellano work at a small car dealership and make commissions, and their income already varied month-to-month.
Antonio Arellano looked down at his hands, up to the flower vase, then shifted his gaze toward Samuel, who said he still has trouble sleeping, sometimes.
Months after the shooting, medical bills, unpaid utilities and other unexpected costs began to mount. Samuel was uninsured at the time of the shooting and medical bills became out-of-pocket expenses for the Arellanos.
“It was hard,” Antonio Arellano said. “We got behind pretty bad.”
Fortunately, Abigail Arellano said, there were no long-term health ramifications because of Samuel’s gunshot wound. Doctors cleaned up an infection that formed weeks after his first hospital visit, she said.
Then at the end of June, Samuel and his family got a surprise they had been eagerly waiting for — a direct deposit from the KC Strong fund.
The fund was established four months ago in the wake of the shooting by the United Way of Greater Kansas City in partnership with the Chiefs. More than 4,000 donors eventually contributed to the fund, raising just over $2 million.
Among some of the top donors were the Kansas City Chiefs. The team, the Hunt Family Foundation and the NFL made a combined donation of $200,000. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes and his wife, Brittany, through their 15 & the Mahomies Foundation, donated $50,000. Several Kansas City businesses and organizations followed their lead and donated tens of thousands of dollars.
“After we got the funds, we (were able to) catch up on everything, pretty much,” Antonio said. “It was a big help, to be honest, and we’re really happy the community got together on this because we know there are more families (affected).”
In addition to paying off debt, Antonio Arellano said, the KC Strong money will allow Samuel and his sister to continue therapy as long as they need.
When KC Strong was launched, many of those who were impacted by the violence of Feb. 14 were just names on a computer screen, said Kera Mashek, a spokeswoman with United Way. But over time, she said, the organization learned their stories and the hardships they suffered.
“While his physical wounds have healed and remnants of his emotional scars will likely never fully leave him… Samuel is still passionate about the Kansas City Chiefs, dreaming about vacations, joining his school’s football team and making plans for his life,” Mashek said.
“And that is what every child deserves — a future not plagued by worry, but filled with joy, optimism and the ability to thrive,” she said.
Hope for justice
The Super Bowl parade and victory rally were supposed to be part of a joyous day for fans like Samuel, who watches every game each season.
Throughout his recovery, Samuel has met some of the other children who were also wounded in the spray of gunfire. Antonio Arellano said he never expected his family to become part of the gun violence statistics that are an all-too-familiar reality for many in Kansas City.
Last year, the city reached a grim milestone, recording 185 homicides, surpassing the most ever recorded in a single year.
Three adults and three teens have been charged in the Chiefs rally shooting, which prosecutors allege stemmed from an altercation between two groups. Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves previously told The Star that the majority of Kansas City’s gun violence stems from arguments.
Prosecutors charged Lyndell Mays, 23, of Raytown, and Dominic Miller, 18, of Kansas City, with second-degree felony murder and unlawful use of a weapon, as well as two counts of armed criminal action.
Terry J. Young, 20, was charged with second-degree felony murder, unlawful use of a weapon and two counts of armed criminal action.
Last month, a 15-year-old was sentenced to serve a term at a state facility for youths.
Two other teens have also been charged in the shooting. A judge ruled in June that one of them will not face prosecution as an adult. The other was detained on gun-related charges that do not rise to the level of being tried as an adult.
Prosecutors have been in constant contact with Antonio Arellano, emailing him updates in the court cases. He asked the prosecutors a couple months ago about who they believe may have shot Samuel, but they told him it was still under investigation and couldn’t give a lot of details.
“They’ve been very helpful. I think they’re doing a great job, too.” “Every time something (happens) in court, we get a notification,” Antonio Arellano said.
Samuel said he is hopeful for another Chiefs Super Bowl appearance this season, though he would be hesitant to attend another parade.
Antonio Arellano said extra security, like requiring attendees to go through metal detectors, would be a good step for peace of mind to attend another rally in the future.
“With no guns being drawn, if there’s a fight, (anyone) can stop a fight, definitely,” Antonio Arellano said.
“I really hope we can attend another Super Bowl celebration and I’m sure after what happened, authorities would take more precautions on guns,” he said. “We really hope we can attend another Super Bowl parade.”
“I’m sure if (Samuel) knows there’s going to be safety measures, he would be OK,” his father said.
‘Get life feeling normal again’
Samuel got up from the dining room table and grabbed a commemorative Super Bowl LVIII football bearing Patrick Mahomes’ signature. It was a gift he received while recovering at the hospital.
“I want to play tight end,” Samuel said, talking about seventh grade football next year.
Many burdens have come and gone for the Arellano family in the six months since Samuel was injured in the shooting. An ever-present thought on their minds, now, is how close the injury had come to being a deeper tragedy.
“You know, just thinking about what could have gone worse,” Antonio Arellano said. “It was a few inches from.. his lungs.”
As the school year begins, Antonio Arellano said he is focused on helping his son become comfortable in social situations again.
“It’s starting to feel back to normal, honestly. We’re just hoping we can get his life feeling normal again and get those fears out of the way,” Antonio Arellano said. “I’m sure we’ll get to it, but trust the therapy will help a lot with that.”
This story was originally published August 31, 2024 at 6:00 AM.
