‘Calling was fast & furious;’ Parents of local Super Bowl champ react after Chiefs’ parade shooting

MONTGOMERY COUNTY — A woman is dead and 22 people are hurt after a shooting at the end of the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl victory parade.

All the Chiefs players who had been celebrating on stage were quickly rushed to safety. Kansas City All-Pro offensive lineman and Archbishop Alter High School grad Joe Thuney was already on his way back to the team bus when the gunfire started.

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Joe was celebrating with the Chiefs, who won their second Super Bowl in a row. In total, it was his fourth time winning the Lombardi trophy.

Despite an injury that kept him from playing in the big game, Joe’s parents, Mike and Beth Thuney were in Las Vegas on Sunday and got to go on the field to celebrate with him.

“We got to see a lot of offensive linemen, Donovan (Smith) and Trey (Smith) and Creed (Humphrey) after the game. And they were all saying, ‘We did this for Joe,’” Mike said.

As reported on News Center 7 at 6:00, Joe’s parents followed the Chiefs’ victory parade from the Miami Valley on the family group text.

“Throughout the parade, we were texting, ‘How’s it going? Is it fun?’ And he was sending us pictures,” Beth said. “It’s been really fun.”

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The tone of that chat took a turn when the gunfire broke out at the parade.

“Text messaging and calling was fast and furious between him and his siblings and us,” Mike recalled. “And he assured us he was OK on the bus. As a matter of fact, he didn’t hear about it (until) he was on the bus and on the way back.”

The Thuneys are thankful their son is OK and are concerned for everyone impacted by the tragedy on a day that was supposed to be all about celebration.

“We just feel so bad for the people of Kansas City to have to deal with the injured and the one death that occurred with this. So everybody’s in our prayers,” Mike said.

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