Eight children were among 22 people shot during a shooting at the conclusion of Wednesday’s parade, in which a crowd cheered the Kansas City Chiefs for their recent Super Bowl victory, authorities said.
The shots left one dead and caused numerous fans to run in terror for cover, in another sporting celebration in the United States that is stained by gun violence.
A radio station identified one of the deceased as one of its workers, an announcer of Mexican descent.
Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves gave details of the dead and injured at a press conference. She said that three people were detained and that, according to the versions she had heard, a group of amateurs captured a suspect.
However, Graves could not confirm that information.
“I’m angry about what happened today. The people who came to celebrate expect a safe environment,” the police chief said.
Authorities did not reveal details about the people detained or a possible motive for the attacks. Graves said some firearms were recovered, but did not explain what type.
“There is a lot of work ahead. We are just in the early stages,” he said. “And all of this is being actively investigated.”
It is the latest sporting event to be marred by gun violence in the United States. Last year, a shooting in downtown Denver after the Nuggets’ NBA crown left several people injured.
Also in 2023, a shooting occurred in a parking lot near the parade with which the Texas Rangers celebrated winning the World Series.
Some people posted shocking videos on social media. One of the images shows someone apparently performing chest compressions on a shooting victim, while another person, who is lying on the ground, writhes in pain. People are crying behind.
In another video, two people are seen chasing and attacking another, holding them on the ground until two police officers arrive.
Radio station KKFI reported on Facebook late in the evening that its host Lisa Lopez, host of the show “Taste of Tejano,” was killed in the shooting.
“This senseless attack has left a family and this Kansas City community without a beautiful person,” KKFI reported in a statement.
López Galván, whose stage name was “Lisa G”, was an outgoing, dedicated and well-known mother in the area, Rosa Izurieta and Martha Ramírez, two childhood friends who worked with her in a personnel recruitment company, agreed. .
Izurieta said López Galván had attended a parade with her husband and their adult son, an avid sports fan, who was also shot.
“She was the type of person who would step in front of a bullet to save anyone, that’s who Lisa was,” Izurieta said.
Interviewed in November by Kansas City Hispanic News, López recounted how her taste for music had emerged. She told the story of her father Beto López, who emigrated to the United States as a young man from his hometown of La Barca, in the western state of Jalisco.
The immigrant later learned to play several instruments and collaborated in bands as well as in mariachis.
The attack occurred despite more than 800 police officers stationed at the train station building and in the area, including the roofs of several nearby buildings, Mayor Quinton Lucas said.
Lisa Money, of Kansas City, Kansas, was trying to gather some confetti near the parade when she heard someone yell, “Down, down, everyone down!”
Initially, Money thought someone was pulling a prank until he saw the special forces jumping the fence.
“I can’t believe it actually happened. Who in their right mind would do something like that? This was supposed to be a day of celebration for everyone in the city and surrounding areas and they have some idiot who wants to come and do something like that,” he said.
Kevin Sanders, 53, from Lenexa, Kansas, said he heard a sound like fireworks and then saw people running. After the initial blast there was calm and he thought no more about it. But he said the ambulances started arriving after 10 minutes.
“It sucks that someone had to ruin the celebration, but we’re in a big city,” Sanders said.
Lisa Augustine, a spokeswoman for Mercy Kansas City Children’s Hospital, said that clinic was treating 12 patients who were in the parade, including 11 children, some of whom had gunshot wounds.
Missouri Governor Mike Parson and his wife were at the parade when the shots were fired but they are fine, Parson said on the social network X.
President Joe Biden was informed of the shooting and would continue to receive updates, a White House spokesperson said.
“State police personnel are assisting local law enforcement in their response,” Parson posted. “As we wait to learn more, our hearts go out to the victims.”
Coach Rick Burkholder said he was with head coach Andy Reid, other members of the coaching staff and the players on the buses heading to Arrowhead Stadium.
“I pray for Kansas City,” quarterback Patrick Mahomes said via a post on X.
Following the Denver Nuggets championship parade last year, there was a shooting in downtown Denver that left two people injured, although police said they do not believe the incident was related to the festivities. Last year, an argument ended in gunshots in a parking lot near the Texas Rangers parade for the World Series title. There were no injuries.
Areas that had been packed with fans were left empty after the shooting. Several police officers and firefighters stood chatting behind an area cordoned off with yellow tape.
A crowd filled the streets where the parade passed and some fans even climbed trees and poles or climbed onto rooftops to get a better view. Team owner Clark Hunt was on top of one of the buses with the Lombardi trophy. Eric Stonestreet, star of the television series “Modern Family, was part of the thousands of fans.
Players moved through the crowd on double-decker buses as a DJ and drummers announced their arrival.
“We’re collecting trophies,” linebacker Drue Tranquill said as he took a reporter’s microphone during the celebrations after the Chiefs’ 25-22 overtime comeback victory over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
“The best fans in the world,” exclaimed receiver Mecole Hardman, who caught the touchdown pass that sealed the victory.
“Never stop,” Isiah Pacheco shouted on the way.
Many fans wondered if pop superstar Taylor Swift would be with her boyfriend Travis Kelce during the parade and messages. But the singer did not appear anywhere at the beginning of the parade. Instead Kelce was with her mother Donna Kelce, considered a superstar among NFL mothers.
The unusually warm temperature of between 15 and 20 degrees Celsius led to more people attending. According to figures from the city authorities, they reached one million attendees.
“I missed it last year and I said ‘I’m not going to miss it this year,'” said a longtime fan named Charles Smith Sr., who traveled from Sicklerville, New Jersey.
After decades without winning a championship, the city is beginning to gain experience in victory parades. Five seasons ago, the Chiefs similarly edged out the 49ers for their first NFL title in 50 years. And it’s also fresh from the Royals’ victory in the 2015 World Series, their first baseball championship in 30 years.
Then last year, the Chiefs defeated the Philadelphia Eagles and promised they would come back for more.
