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Harrisonville father shot at Chiefs Super Bowl rally worries about lasting trauma to children

James Lemons
Posted at 11:10 PM, Mar 25, 2024
and last updated 2024-03-26 11:09:39-04

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Harrisonville man shot at the Chiefs Super Bowl rally last month is worried about the trauma passed along to his children.

James Lemons was shot in the back of one leg as he carried his daughter through the chaos.

Lemons said the emotional toll on his family has continued weeks later.

"Like my kids faces is mostly what I remember,” he said. “The terrified looks that they had on their faces trying to push through the crowd. Knowing that I was hurt, but knowing that I was still worried about them getting out of there."

The bullet didn’t hit anyone else in his family, but the emotional ricochet of seeing dad fall takes its own toll.

His five-year-old daughter and her older brother have nightmares now.

Lemons said his daughter is afraid of crowds.

"I want her to feel like she can go anywhere and not have to feel like someone is after her," he said. "She shouldn't feel like that. Not as a five-year-old.”

 The shooting took a sense of security from the family and it's one only time can give back.

"I guess I'm still processing, too,” he said.

 Lemons said he and his family tried to hold out from accepting donations, but with Lemons unable to work until his surgery to remove the bullet, they have set up a GoFundMe account.