Family seeks justice for man wrongly accused in KC Chiefs parade shooting

OLATHE, Kansas -- "Is everything OK?" Denton Loudermill Jr. texted his lawyer the greeting of April 10. Loudermill would cheque successful similar that erstwhile the value of everything got excessively heavy. But LaRonna Lassiter Saunders was connected the roadworthy and knew she would person to carve retired immoderate clip for him. She'd telephone him later.

For Lassiter Saunders, sometimes it felt arsenic if she was much similar Loudermill's therapist than his attorney. She knew helium was conscionable trying to navigate a beingness that had been upended connected the day of Feb. 14, 2024 -- the time of the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl LVIII triumph parade and rally.

Loudermill, a 49-year-old begetter of three, was truthful excited astir his team's back-to-back titles that helium had donned a reddish hoodie and matching sweatpants for the event. Then, successful an country adjacent wherever Loudermill happened to beryllium celebrating, an statement broke retired that led to gunfire. A section vigor host, Lisa Lopez-Galvan, was killed and 22 radical were injured successful the Chiefs' Super Bowl parade shooting. Police concisely detained Loudermill successful the chaos that followed adjacent Union Station, and onlookers snapped photos of him handcuffed and seated connected a curb.

In a substance of moments, his beingness was thrown into the societal media woodchipper. An representation appeared online and caught the attraction of news-seekers, and yet politicians, who successful the hours aft the shooting labeled him arsenic everything from the gunman to an "illegal" immigrant.

The information that constabulary released Loudermill a abbreviated clip aboriginal did not marque the societal media rounds, but the photograph of him successful handcuffs did. And the antheral who was outgoing and social, who perpetually struck up conversations with strangers, became a pariah -- falsely accused of being the shooter.

Searches of "Chiefs parade shooter" connected X revealed assorted photos of Loudermill's detainment. At the clip of this publication, a New York City tabloid societal media relationship inactive has a representation of him successful handcuffs and flanked by constabulary officers.

Loudermill tried to instrumentality to his mundane beingness but could not flight the glare.

"'They got my look each implicit the news,'" Lassiter Saunders recalled Loudermill telling her soon aft the shooting. "'I'm conscionable a light-skinned member that was trying to bask my Chiefs.'"

She figured the champion mode to combat the misinformation was to acceptable the grounds consecutive successful each imaginable venue, and wrong days of the shooting, they appeared connected CNN, "Inside Edition" and the section TV stations successful Kansas City. It didn't look to help.

Loudermill became withdrawn and paranoid, and yet helium was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress.

"He thought radical were pursuing him," said 1 of his sisters, Reba Paul.

He wanted an apology, and erstwhile helium didn't get it, helium sought justness successful the signifier of lawsuits. He clung to those calls and meetings with Lassiter Saunders, waiting for thing oregon idiosyncratic to wide his name. She reminded him these things instrumentality time.

On the greeting of April 11, Lassiter Saunders was astir to telephone Loudermill backmost to update him connected what was happening. Mostly, she wanted to reassure him. But earlier she could dial, his sister rang in. She told Lassiter Saunders that Loudermill had been recovered dead. Paul had conscionable been to his house, and saw him lying connected the surviving country level adjacent the couch.

The autopsy would instrumentality months, but during that time, his siblings remained resolved to basal up for their member and to bash what they could to wide his name. The past twelvemonth of Loudermill's beingness is simply a communicative of however rapidly misinformation tin dispersed -- and however slowly, if ever, the information breaks through.

Through it all, his household remains convinced of 1 thing: They mislaid Denton Loudermill Jr. the time of that parade.

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