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'Clear it up': Olathe man wrongfully identified as Super Bowl rally shooter wants apology

Denton Loudermill
Posted at 10:34 PM, Feb 19, 2024
and last updated 2024-02-20 09:20:40-05

Denton Loudermill is trying to clear his name after viral social media posts wrongly identified him as the shooter at the Chiefs Super Bowl rally.

"My reaction was just like wow ... they really don't know who I am," Loudermill said. "They got the wrong guy."

The mass shooting at the celebration on Feb.14 killed one person and wounded 22 others.

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A spokesperson for the Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department said officers detained and later released many people on circumstances unrelated to the shooting.

Officers did not arrest Loudermill.

"I had nothing to do with it," Loudermill said. "It's hard for me to process still, so I don't know how I feel or what I was thinking at the time."

Loudermill's older sister, Reba Paul, was furious at the photos accusing her brother.

"He shouldn't walk into a store and wonder if someone is looking at him because they think he did something," Paul said.

His family knows Feb. 14 was more than just a Super Bowl celebration.

"It was more of an escape and celebration because that day was V-Day, which happened to be the one-year anniversary of the passing of our father," Paul said.

Since last Wednesday, Loudermill has spent nearly all his time trying to escape the social media narratives, including one from Rep. Tim Burchett, a Congressman from Tennessee.

LaRonna Lassiter-Saunders is the founder of My Better America, a nonprofit that focuses on correcting injustice for those who can’t afford it on their own.

Lassiter-Saunders reacted to the congressman's initial tweet and partial retraction.

"He recently put out a post, 'Hey, the person is not illegal. The shooter is not illegal,'" Lassister-Saunders said. "He is not a shooter. He is not a shooter and he is not illegal, so walk it back again."

Loudermill's family and advocates want the truth of his innocence to spread just as fast on social media as it did when the social media posts about him were wrong.

"Clear it up. That's it," Paul said.

My Better America set up a legal defense fund for Loudermill.

The organization emphasizes its primary focus is clearing Loudermill's name.