Victims of rally shooting get aid from KC Strong fund
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - Over four months after a shooting at the Chiefs’ Super Bowl rally at Union Station, the shooting victims are getting the funds from United Way.
Over $2 million was donated through the United Way’s KC Strong Fund.
Thursday morning, 20 victims were told they were getting payouts ranging between $20,000 and $100,000.
The Lemons family was among the victims. James Lemons was shot in the back of the leg at the parade.
“It’s a weight lifted off of our shoulders,” Lemons said. “I just want to thank everyone; I want to thank my family for putting up with me. It kind of stifled me because I couldn’t work, and it took away my insurance.”
Thankfully they got some help from the Church Loves Kansas City fund which stepped in during the extensive vetting process of the KC Strong Fund.
“We know United Way is going to have a big impact in our city, and we’re grateful,” said Gary Kendall with Love KC. “A lot of people have contributed to that, and we think of that kind of a big lightning strike that makes this huge difference. We are like the little campfire that’s been burning from the beginning, and we’ll just keep being there for the people.”
Kara Mashek with United Way of Greater Kansas City said this has been a very rigorous, thorough, and challenging process.
“Really, from the beginning, we were committed to doing this process right more than doing it fast,” Mashek said. “I know sometimes that can bring frustrations for people wanting the dollars to be out the door immediately. But we really owe a great deal of responsibility to every person who donated.”
READ MORE: KC Strong fund pays medical bills for 20 people injured at Chiefs rally shooting
The other money raised from the fund will go towards 14 local organizations to help with healing and crime prevention. Each organization will receive about $60,000.
“We’re not the type of people that asks for help; we usually try and figure it out ourselves, and since this has happened, we’ve had to ask for help just to make sure that we can provide for our kids,” said James’ wife, Brandie.
Their daughter was on James’ shoulders when he was shot.
“We just went to a graduation in May, and at the end of it, when everyone gets up to leave, it’s like a big crowd of people running, and she started screaming and crying for her dad and broke out into a sweat,” Brandie said.
The Lemons are forever thankful for Chiefs Kingdom and beyond, saying one day they hope to pay it forward.
“I want to pay people back for what they’ve done for me,” James said. “Thank you.”
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