Trey Smith shares story of comforting young Chiefs fan at Super Bowl parade shooting

On a day when he should have been celebrating his second straight Super Bowl title, Kansas City Chiefs guard Trey Smith found himself as a protector once more.

At the end of the parade, shots rang out and several Chiefs fans gathered at Union Station ran for their lives. One life was lost, and several children were shot and transported to a hospital. Smith took the time to show his softer side to a younger fan who was scared amidst the horror.

Smith, per NFL.com, shared a custom WWE Championship belt he brought to the parade and talked wrestling with a young boy in hopes of taking his mind off the panic. The boy was among several fans that were taking shelter in a closet with Smith and long-snapper James Winchester.

"Right before I run in there, there's a little kid in front of me so I just grabbed him and yanked him up and said, 'You're hopping in here with me, buddy,' " Smith said.

He elaborated further:

"This little boy was with his father. He was a little hysterical. He just panicked. He was scared. He doesn't know what's going on. I had the WWE belt the entire parade and I was thinking, what can I do to help him out? I just handed him the belt and said, 'Hey buddy, you're the champion. No one is gonna hurt you. No one's gonna hurt you, man. We got your back.' We just started talking about wrestling: 'Who's your favorite wrestler? What's your favorite wrestling match?' Little things like that to take his mind off it. He was looking out the window. He was seeing people reacting, trying to get out of the situation. I'm like, 'Here you go, buddy, this is yours,. No one is gonna hurt you. You're here with us. You're going to be A-OK. You're going to be all right.'"

Trey Smith comforted kids after Chiefs Super Bowl parade shooting

For the amount of aggression that Smith shows on the field, his softer side showed this time in a truly heroic act to give these children some semblance of comfort at a tumultuous time. However, the minds have to leave football for just a moment, there is a bigger issue at hand.

One person, a local radio host and mother of two, has died and 22 more, including kids, were wounded as a result of the shooting. Three people, including two juveniles, have been detained as authorities continue their investigation. This only adds to the long list of mass shootings in America, and when kids are involved, the situation only gets worse.

Now Super Bowl championship parades are no longer safe, and next year, whoever wins, maybe Kansas City again, has the arduous task of installing even more security during the event, but that may also not be enough. Major props to Trey Smith and the rest of the Kansas City organization for stepping up, and prayers are with the community at this time.