Shooting near Kansas City Super Bowl Victory rally kills at Least one, Injures 21
Following an outdoor celebration of the NFL champion Chiefs’ Super Bowl triumph, a flurry of gunfire broke out in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, on Wednesday. The incident left at least one person dead and twenty-one wounded as large crowds of spectators fled for their lives.
Three persons were held “and under investigation” in relation to the violence at the city’s iconic Union Station during a procession that left confetti all over the place, according to Police Chief Stacey Graves during a press conference.
Investigators, according to Graves, have no idea why there has been gun violence. Six-year-olds were among the eleven injured by gunshots or the resulting mayhem.
According to officials, bullets struck at least 22 persons, one of them fatally. The deceased was identified as Lisa Lopez, one of its employees, by the local radio station KKFI.
Fifteen victims suffered life-threatening wounds, Fire Department Chief Ross Grundyson said at a late-afternoon news conference.
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said the prevalence of firearms and gun violence in the United States made it difficult to provide complete security for any public event, even with several hundred law enforcement officers on patrol for the Chiefs’ victory parade and rally.
“Parades, rallies, schools, movies – it seems like almost nothing is safe,” Quinton, a Democrat, told reporters, recounting how he was among those who ran for cover at the sound of gunshots.
“We became part of a statistic of too many Americans, those who have experienced or been part of or connected to a mass shooting,” he said.
Hours after the violence, the precise circumstances remained unclear, and authorities were still determining the full extent of casualties and age range of the victims.
Children’s Mercy Kansas City treated a dozen people from the incident, 11 of them children aged 6 to 15. Nine of the 12 patients were gunshot victims, a hospital spokesperson said.
Graves said she was aware of reports that some fans may have participated in the pursuit and capture of at least one of the suspects, and investigators were reviewing video of the incident.
Some 800 law enforcement officers were at the rally and parade that preceded it, including agents of the FBI and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
All of the Chiefs players, coaches and staff who attended the victory rally were accounted for and safe, the National Football League team said in a statement.
The blast of gunshots, fired outside near a garage by the station, came at the end of the victory rally following a parade, according to police.
