We drove up to Dallas a little early to kick off NCA weekend, and we were delighted to arrive early enough to cheer on Kaitlynn's former team, the Nighthawks. They looked amazing and we were already feeling the excitement in the air for the full weekend ahead. The weather was gorgeous and we soaked in all the special moments with Jeff joining us for his first NCA experience.
The next morning, Jeff headed out to pick us up some breakfast while Kaitlynn began getting ready. It was a happy accident that we discovered The Biscuit Bar because it was within walking distance of our downtown hotel, and those breakfast biscuits were AMAZING!! It was the perfect fuel for Kaitlynn's competition day, and we were soon on our way to the convention center for warm-ups.
The Spartans had an amazing Day 1 performance and were all smiles after smashing their routine. We were feeling so optimistic about their chances!
After their Day 1 performance, we were hanging around the convention center to shop and watch other teams that were performing in the various halls. We walked through the Fabletics booth and got separated from Jeff, so I texted him that we were going to walk toward the Omni hotel to check out their snack options. We didn't see anything we needed at the Omni snack bar, so we began walking toward the back Hall A exit down the escalators to the ground floor so that we could meet back up with Jeff who was sitting outside in between the Omni and Hall A. Right around the time we reached the ground floor and approached the exit, my phone went off. It was a text message in our Spartans Parents group chat, and in all caps it said, "ACTIVE SHOOTER."
I froze. We were 20 feet from the exit which was a full wall of glass doors, but I stopped in the middle of the walkway to process what I had just read. I must have muttered, "Oh my gosh" or something like that. Kaitlynn stopped right beside me, asking what was wrong. I showed her the text message, and her eyes went as wide as saucers as we looked at each other trying to process. In that exact moment, dozens of cheerleaders, parents, and spectators began charging through the wall of glass doors, running as fast as they could. They were coming from the outside area in hoards, trying to get IN as we were just about to go OUT. We were still frozen in place as we watched the crowd of people running past with sheer panic towards Hall A, deeper into the building away from the wall of glass doors. At this point, my phone was vibrating over and over as more messages were coming in with various parents chiming in about the situation. Kaitlynn observed several of the fleeing cheerleaders run into a nearby team warm-up room, and she grabbed my hand and said, "Mom, in here!" We rushed over and followed a group of cheerleaders and parents into the warm-up room and all crowded into the back corner. There were coaches at the entrance of the room ushering everyone inside and telling us all to get low and huddle together. As we found our spots in the corner of the room and crouched low in a huge group of cheerleaders, I was very calm but still in a state of confusion and disbelief. The cheerleaders around us were panicked and crying, and Kaitlynn was starting to pick up on their emotions and began panicking as well. I assured Kaitlynn and everyone around us to remain calm and breathe, and I began catching up on the countless text messages I had received from the past few minutes with Jeff, parents, and friends all checking in and sharing their location. The word had spread -- everyone in our parent and friend groups across the entire convention center area was messaging with some variation of the news, and it seemed confirmed that people were hearing gunshots and hiding in various locations. The coaches in the room barred the doors closed and we continued to huddle and wait. At one point, I began praying with Kaitlynn and the girls around us in an attempt to calm everyone down. It was clear that mass confusion and chaos was in progress, and I honestly didn't know what to believe. Kaitlynn and I tried to keep a cool head and snapped this photo as we sat on the floor in a roomful of cheerleaders and parents awaiting any updates.
After a few minutes, there were some coaches and event officials that gave us the all clear to exit the room. There were probably 100 or more of us that began to leave the room and walk toward a rear exit to the street level of the convention center between Hall A and B. Everyone was calm but confused as we nearly reached the main street, but suddenly, we heard a single pop. No one immediately reacted to the pop, but Kaitlynn and I looked at each other and she asked, "What was that?" It was around that time that everyone in front of us did an about-face and began running BACK towards us to reach the door that we had just exited from. They were all screaming and panicked all over again, and we weren't sure if it was from the pop we heard or something else. We ran back with the crowd back to the room where we had previously sheltered, but this time we huddled and packed ourselves tight like sardines inside a large closet in the room. Panic ensued, and everyone was crying in fear. My phone was still blowing up with text messages from Jeff trying to reach us and tons of fellow parents giving their location and experience in the moment. I was more confused than anything else, but I did what I could to calm Kaitlynn and all the cheerleaders in the packed closet. I have no idea how much time passed, but we were eventually given an "all clear" by some officials in the room. We slowly made our way out of the warm-up room for the second time, but this time we were escorted out by police in full tactical gear with automatic weapons guarding the room. I turned my head to survey the Hall as we filed out, and the police force was everywhere, creating quite the somber mood as we attempted our exit again.
We made it outside, past the convention center, and immediately met up with Jeff. He was just as confused as everyone else but thankful we were finally reunited amidst the chaos. At this point, we were getting messages that the rest of the day's events were cancelled and everyone needed to evacuate the convention center. The area was swarming with police, fire and rescue, and every other agency in the city as they addressed the incident. We began to walk toward our hotel and devoured the news and updates from our phone as we tried to process and understand what in the world had happened. Had there actually been an active shooter? Little did we know that we would likely not get any straight answers for hours and even days to come.
Despite what countless eye witnesses described of hearing shots, officials (much) later described the event as a parent fight that started in the Omni hotel - the area where Kaitlynn and I had just walked through right before the incident - with "poles" that fell, mimicking the sound of gunshots and triggering a mass panic event that spread through the Halls. It was a wild story, and there's not a single parent I know that understands or believes this official account, especially those of us that heard the pops and witnessed the panic as far away as the convention center Arena. Regardless of what actually happened, the experience was profoundly terrifying for so many parents and cheerleaders. NCA 2025, the last one to be held in Dallas for the foreseeable future, became a traumatic event that wouldn't easily be shaken or forgotten.
Due to the fallout from the incident, NCA officials had to completely reformat the competition, offering teams various options for completing their weekend performances. The Spartans were happy to have the chance to compete on Day 2, despite the residual fear that many attendees were feeling when they returned to the convention center that morning. We all put on brave faces but the talk of the day for every single person was, "What in the world happened yesterday?!" We still felt so much confusion, but we were all trying to shake it off and soak in the moments of the last Dallas NCA.
The girls performed a beautiful routine, but in the end, it just wasn't enough to secure the win. Kaitlynn and her team were devastated. What an insane and disappointing weekend! One we will never forget.
