Mass shooting following the Chiefs’ Super Bowl parade may have been caused by a dispute, according to police.
(AP) — KANSAS CITY, MO Authorities said on Thursday that a dispute between multiple people appeared to be the cause of the mass shooting that broke out amid throngs of people at the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl celebration, killing one person and wounding nearly two dozen others.
The 22 injured people on Wednesday, according to Police Chief Stacey Graves, ranged in age from 8 to 47, with half of them being under 16. A two-mother was murdered.
Two minors remain in custody, according to police, who detained three juveniles and released the other one after concluding that he was not involved in the shooting. There are no charges on file. In addition to asking witnesses, victims, and anyone with cellphone footage of the violence to contact a special hotline, police are searching for additional individuals who may have been involved.
“We’re trying to find out who else might be involved. It should be mentioned that we have found multiple weapons. This incident is still a very active investigation,” Graves said at a news conference.
The shooting outside Union Station occurred despite the presence of more than 800 police officers who were in the building and area, including on top of nearby structures, said Mayor Quinton Lucas, who attended with his wife and mother and ran for safety when the shots were fired. He does not, however, plan to postpone the forthcoming St. Patrick’s Day parade.
“We regularly have parades. They won’t end, in my opinion. Without a doubt, we were aware of the difficulties and concerns they pose for public safety,” Lucas added.
The festivities on Wednesday marked the third such
The parade route was crowded, with spectators scaling street poles and trees to get a better look. DJs and drummers greeted the players as they arrived on double-decker buses.
Thousands of supporters mingling in a park in front of Union Station while sporting red Chiefs gear can be seen in footage shot from a building overlooking the festivities. They abruptly disperse to the sound of screams as shots repeat.
A portion of those who run back to assist people on a sidewalk, street, or green space. Even after the gunfire stops, people in the vicinity scatter wildly, but fans further away stick around, seemingly unsure of what has happened.
The parade took place in a city of about 470,000 people and a metropolitan area of about 2 million, according to the police chief, who also emphasized that the violence was caused by a small number of people.
“The response from law enforcement was excellent. Attendees also gave their response,” Graves continued.
Trey Filter was one of them; he heard shouts to “get him” as he and his family were making their way to the car.
When Filter, 40, noticed someone running, he and another onlooker attempted to tackle the man. Eventually, Filter leaped over the individual.
“It’s unbelievable what the hell I was thinking,” recollected the proprietor of a concrete and asphalt business. “We thought, ‘We got him.'” I will always
Casey Filter, his wife, picked up the gun after it fell close to her. The person who was running was under a dogpile at that point, about ten feet (3 meters) away.
Living outside of Wichita, Kansas, Trey Filter was still processing the brawl on Thursday. Still, he was relieved that there wasn’t more bloodshed.
He remarked, “I’m sure a thousand other men there would have done it.”
Filter was a man who intervened, but the police did not name him or say whether the person he tackled was a suspect.
The shots started as the rally on Wednesday was coming to an end, with music still playing. At first, a lot of people believed they were hearing fireworks. But then everything went haywire. While some people in the crowd fell to the ground, others leaped over obstacles and ran, some of them with children in their arms.
Because of the size of the crowd, normalcy returned quickly, with some people still unaware of what had happened. But then the ambulances pulled up, and the cops barged in with their weapons drawn. Golf carts were used to transport some of the less critically hurt people away.
The shocked audience, some of whom were crying, carefully gathered their possessions as they attempted to figure out how to get home. In the moments that separated the joyful celebration from the crime scene tape, strangers consoled one another.
While watching the rally with a friend, sophomore Hank Hunter of Kansas High School reported hearing gunfire in the distance. People began hitting the ground “like a chain reaction,” but at first they had no idea what it was.
Hunter claimed that as they dashed to leap over a barricade, his friend struck his head hard on the concrete. As the Chiefs players and coaches got ready to board buses for their departure, a security guard led his friend into Union Station, which was off-limits to the general public. Coach Andy Reid comforted his friend there, saying he “just tried to calm him down and comfort him.”
Social media users shared a video of the shooting’s aftermath in which they could be seen ostensibly giving chest compressions to one victim while another lay nearby, appearing to be in pain. The sound of screams was background.
Radio station KKFI-FM revealed that the deceased woman was Lisa Lopez-Galvan, the host of “Taste of Tejano.”
From a well-known Latino family in the community, Lopez-Galvan, also known by her DJ name “Lisa G,” was an outgoing and loving mother, according to Martha Ramirez and Rosa Izurieta, two old friends who coworked with her at a staffing agency.
Izurieta remarked, “She’s the kind of person who would jump in front of a bullet for anybody—that would be Lisa.”
In an attempt to combat violent crime, the U.S. Justice Department singled out nine cities in 2020, including Kansas City, which has long struggled with gun violence. With 182 homicides in 2023, the city tied a record, with the majority involving firearms.
Along with mayors across the nation, Lucas is advocating for new legislation to curb gun violence, such as requiring background checks for all purchases.
Three gunshot victims, two of whom were critically ill, were still receiving treatment at University Health Truman Medical Center as of Thursday. One man only made it out alive because personnel transported him to the
