KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Chiefs' Super Bowl rally was wrapping up Wednesday, and it had been a great day for Chris Cotten and his 13-year-old son, Zach.
They had cheered for the reigning Super Bowl champion Chiefs and weren't far from the Union Station stage. Zach got autographs from a handful of former players.
Then there was gunfire.
"The police ran from behind the stage towards the shooter, and when they cleared, we went into the building," Chris Cotten recalled in a phone interview. "Nobody was really actually sure if it was gunshots or if it was fireworks."
Cotten estimated there were a few hundred people in Union Station, including the Chiefs players, coaches and staff, who were in an area partitioned by curtains.
Inside Union Station seemed to be the safest place Cotten and his son could be. Cotten went to the bathroom, and when he came out, any sense of calm he felt evaporated.
"I was about halfway back to the lobby," Cotten said, "and then somebody yelled 'shooter,' and everybody just started running towards the exits, towards where the trains were."
In the chaos, Zach Cotten wasn't sure what to do or where to go.
"I didn't know what was happening," Zach said. "I was in the building and somebody yelled 'shooter,' so everybody started running and I didn't know where to go. So I ran behind the curtains where the players were. I started exiting with all of them, and then I didn't know where to go."
Fortunately, a woman took Zach to an area behind Union Station where the team buses were located.
That's when Chiefs running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire sprang into action.
"Clyde was trying to tell her to get on the bus, and then Clyde ran to me and put me in the back of a box truck and the other girl (was) looking after me," Zach said. "Just waiting 'til everything was clear.
"He was telling me to calm down and that everything was going to be OK."
At that point, Chris Cotten was still in Union Station and frantically looking for his son. He called Zach's phone and hoped there wouldn't be any cell disruption because of the size of the crowd at the celebration.
Fortunately, Zach picked up right away but was upset and scared. However, Zach was able to relay that he was by the team buses behind Union Station.
"Then he had handed the phone to Clyde," Chris Cotten said. "And then I spoke to Clyde for a little while, and he was very nice, very professional (saying), 'I have your son. He's safe. He's not in harm's way.'
"I didn't realize he was a Chiefs player at the time. It wasn't until later when Zach and I reconnected. He was telling me, 'No daddy, he plays for the Chiefs.' "
Chris Cotten said he didn't hear any shooting in Union Station, but the SWAT team cleared the building. He called the Chiefs' offices Thursday to show his appreciation for Edwards-Helaire and the woman who helped his son get out of Union Station.
Zach's mom thanked Edwards-Helaire on Facebook on Thursday, and the Chiefs running back responded with a message about taking care of one's mental health.
Zach texted Edwards-Helaire on Thursday to express his gratitude.
"All love, little bro," Edwards-Helaire wrote back. "Tell Dad thanks for staying on the phone and thank you for trusting me. Zach, you are a warrior. Always be that way."
Edwards-Helaire punctuated the message with two heart emojis.
"You only have a short time in the world to be an athlete, but you always have time to be a great human being," Chris Cotten said. "And that's what he did for my son, and (we'll) always be grateful."