Travis Pastrana experienced a chaotic moment at a Texas Cheer Nationals event when a fight among parents led to someone falsely yelling “active shooter,” sparking mass panic. While in the bleachers for his daughter’s awards, he lost sight of her as crowds stampeded in fear. He and other parents frantically searched for their kids amid the chaos, with people getting injured and cell service crashing. Eventually, he reunited with his family, finding his daughter Addy a mile away at a pizza shop. He praised his wife Lyn-Z for staying calm and thanked law enforcement for their quick response.
Travis Pastrana posted – Crazy cheer weekend. A fight broke out between parents and the Cheer Nationals in Texas and someone yelled “active shooter” which spread like wildfire across the tens of thousands in attendance like a game of telephone.
I was on the bleachers where my daughter’s awards were starting when a wall of panic that rivaled the zombie scenes from “World War Z” came into our hall at full sprint. I took a second to analyze the situation and when I looked back, my daughter was gone. All of my years of being a rational human went out the door and I joined the stampede. Got outside and it was chaos! Regrouped with a few dads & found packs of our kids hiding in various locations, but not Addy. I knew she wasn’t involved in the initial incident and had the Pastrana gene of turning fear into excitement so I was confident she would be ok but didn’t know what happened or if there was still a threat. My wife and other daughter were in a different hall but with everyone trying to get on their phones, the cell grid shut down. Thousands of parents separated from their kids and visa-versa. People were vomiting from anxiety. Some people had fallen down and were bruised and bloodied from the chaos. A random loud bang and a big group started running again. Someone yelled “get down!” I dropped, then saw another cheer dad on his feet like Sam Elliott in “we were soldiers” and remembered my dad saying good leaders instill confidence in others. I felt dumb for over-reacting again. Proud of @lynzskate who handled herself like a champ. She took a minute to regroup in a bathroom with Bristol before braving the unknown to find her way to us, all while helping her friends find their kids.
Phones started working about an hour later & we found Addy, a mile away with a friend at a pizza shop. I asked what the hell she was thinking. Addy reminded me that Marcus Luttrell said “if you ever get in a life threatening situation, keep moving and never quit”. Thanks to all the cops who ran into the unknown without hesitation and for all the parents and kids who kept it together until everyone was reunited
