THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: When these senseless shootings hit close to home

My stepson and his girlfriend went to a celebration parade on Wednesday afternoon.

With the temperature in the mid-60s, barely a hint of wind and a nearly cloudless sky, the setting was perfect for more than a hundred thousand fans to take in the happiness.

But.

Then.

Gunfire.

In a sudden burst of movement and chaos, police screamed at everyone to get on the ground.

What?

“GET DOWN!”

From fun to madness, all in seconds.

Cops were trying to save lives by reducing targets.

Responders with weapons raced into Kansas City’s historic Union Station, which had been the backdrop for a daylong party in honor of the Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory last Sunday. 

But, as happens far, far too often for reasons that make no sense, someone had opened fire in the crowd.

It turns out that there were three shooters, and by early evening, authorities still struggled to answer the question we hear over and over.

Why?

Why would anyone shoot 22 people, including nine children, and leave one dead (so far)?

IN OUR family, we had a more immediate question.

Where and how were Matthew and Madi?

They’ve been to events that have drawn huge crowds to downtown outdoor venues in the past, and often discovered that it was difficult to get cell phone service.

Technology was overwhelmed by the sheer number of people.

This was an awful day for so many reasons, but for us, you could add spotty phone service to the hell.

We needed to know about the kids.

My partner, Melissa, happened to be in Kansas City this week — so she could watch the non-stop news on TV while making relentless calls to Matthew.

Me?

All I could do was wait — and watch Wolf Blitzer briefing the world on CNN.

We found out later that the national outlet was carrying all the same important news that Melissa could get on any of the Kansas City channels — and at just the same times.

News updates from the mayor. 

Victim count from the chief of police.

I could hear the same information at home and in the background, during my long calls to Melissa.

Matthew finally told her that his car was parked at a friend’s apartment a couple of miles away, so he and Madi just hiked it back.

He filled in a few details about where they’d been when the craziness broke out, and thousands were trying to get away from Ground Zero.

This geography likely won’t mean much to you, but Matthew and Madi had found a spot on the north end of the Lincoln Memorial — which is basically a nice hillside facing the front of Union Station, where the stage was set up for the Chiefs players and coaches.

As I write this, police still have not released precise information about exactly where the shooting took place, but it seems from witnesses that everything happened just as the parade concluded — and on the west side of Union Station.

Matthew and Madi were far enough away to escape face-to-face terror, but they WERE in range to know that someone was shooting.

IT MUST have been terrifying.

I got goosebumps just hearing Melissa recount Matthew’s short explanation of where they’d been.

Melissa also is quite emotional when trying to talk about meaningless violence, so our conversations were difficult.

I doubt she slept much (or at all) on Wednesday night.

Of course, we heard all the usual statements of sorrow and calls for prayer from public officials and local celebrities posted on social media.

“Praying for Kansas City,” wrote Patrick Mahomes on X.

One reason we know all those statements by heart is because mass shootings are now almost routine.

It might (or might not) have been a coincidence, but Wednesday’s gunfire came on the sixth anniversary of the Parkland School shooting — when 17 died.

When Quinton Lucas, the mayor of Kansas City (Mo.) met the press Wednesday evening, he was asked how three shooters could turn on a crowd with 800 armed law enforcement personnel present to keep order, the mayor replied: “Well, because everyone has guns.”

Right now, I confess I’ll be putting society’s shooting issue temporarily on hold.

I’m just so damn happy that Matthew and Madi are safe.

Still. 

I probably won’t sleep all that well, either.

Email: scameron@cdapress.com

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press four times each week, normally Tuesday through Friday unless, you know, stuff happens.

Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On.”