Local teen saved by Clyde Edwards-Helaire at Super Bowl rally

By Mark Poulose

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    KANSAS CITY, Missouri (KCTV) — As we continue to learn more about the shooting at the Chiefs’ Super Bowl Parade, we begin to learn more about the heroic deeds of some in attendance.

One local teen was separated from his father in the hysteria, but was saved by a Chiefs player. Clyde Edwards-Helaire saw a child in need, so he stepped in and helped him to safety.

“Clyde is a great human being,” said Chris Cotten, Zach Cotten’s father. “He didn’t have to help my son, but he did.”

The Cotten family can breathe easier now than they did after the rally. The father and son duo were separated as bullets rang around them.

“Somebody yelled, ‘Shooter!’ and everybody starts running,” said 13-year-old Zach. “I’m panicking because I don’t know where to go. I run into the players room to find the nearest exit. I’m back there panicking, don’t know what to do because I was by myself.”

Zach’s father immediately took out his cellphone and called his son, but things were happening so fast.

“He said, ‘I don’t know where I am,’ but he handed me the phone and it was Clyde. I didn’t know it was Clyde,” said Chris Cotten. “I didn’t know who it was. He said, ‘I have your son. Your son is safe. He’s ok.’”

On the football field, running backs have to know how to protect. That’s exactly what Edwards-Helaire did – taking Zach to a truck for safety and guarding him until his dad found them.

“Zach said he was trying to duck behind something, hide behind something, and he didn’t know where to go. He said Clyde went out of his way to get him and help him and help him get out,” Chris Cotten said.

“He’s a really good person because he likes to help people,” Zach said.

As soon as Zach got to safety, he wanted to reach out to Clyde. Zach sent him a text on Messenger, and quickly got a response.

“I said, ‘Thank you for helping me,’” said Zach. “He said, ‘All love, bro bro. Tell Dad thanks for staying on the phone and thank you for trusting me. Zach, you are a warrior. Always be that way.’”

Zach told KCTV5 he did not go to school on Thursday as he is still working through what happened at the parade. However, he has received many messages from friends who are thankful he is alive.

Zach also told KCTV5 he is the starting quarterback for his middle school’s football team, and he dreams of being the starting goalie for the US Men’s National Soccer Team.

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