Kansas City Super Bowl Victory Parade shooting: Police link Super Bowl rally shooting to controversy, not extremism

A fight between several people following an NFL Super Bowl victory celebration in Kansas City, Missouri, led to a shooting that left one woman dead and 22 people injured, police said Thursday, with police ruling out any terrorism. Clear connection rejected.

The day after the shooting near the city’s historic downtown train station, Police Chief Stacey Graves said at a news conference that three people, including two minors, had been detained as “subjects” of the investigation.

A third detainee, also a juvenile, who was committed for non-appearance, was later released, according to police spokeswoman Alayna Gonzalez.

He said police were working with juvenile prosecutors to review the evidence and “determine applicable charges” against the two minors still in custody, both teenagers.

The police chief told reporters that several firearms were recovered from the shooting site.

“It appears to be a dispute between several people that ended in gunfire,” he said, suggesting the violence was incidental to the celebration rather than a targeted attack.

“Preliminary investigative findings indicate there is no connection to terrorism or domestic violent extremism,” Graves said.

The chief did not elaborate on what police knew about the origins of the deadly clash or the details of the shooting, including whether gang activity was involved.

More than a million fans attended Wednesday’s parade and rally celebrating the Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, Graves said, and as the event was ending, gunshots rang out and covered the crowd. Forced to run to do.

Two fans attending the rally caught and arrested one of the three suspects.

At Thursday’s briefing, police increased the number of gunshot deaths to 23 and said their ages ranged from 8 to 47. Lisa Lopez-Galvan, a popular local radio personality, was the lone fatality.

“We have every intention of filing charges,” Graves said of the suspects in custody. His identity was not revealed.

More suspicious?

Police tried to determine if anyone else was involved in the shooting, and the chief said all those responsible “will be brought to justice.”

Children’s Mercy Hospital said it treated nine children suffering from gunshot wounds and all were expected to recover. Two other children and an adult victim suffering gunshot wounds were also treated there, the hospital said.

Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker, who will decide on any criminal charges, vowed on social media Thursday that “I will use every tool at my disposal under Missouri law that allows me to deal with this tragedy.” Is.”

Baker’s office said by phone that charges could come as early as Thursday afternoon.

It was the latest high-profile explosion of gun violence in the US, where such incidents have erupted with increasing frequency in schools, supermarkets, nightclubs and other public settings.

“This is an absolutely real American problem,” Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas told KMBC-TV. “But as long as we have idiots who will commit these types of acts, as long as we have them having access to firearms at this level of capability… we may continue to see incidents like this.”

The mayor said plans for a St. Patrick’s Day parade next month will move forward. He said Wednesday’s shooting “doesn’t mean events will stop happening in Kansas City.”

Kansas City’s 182 murders in 2023 were an all-time record, surpassing the 176 murders in 2020. According to police statistics, more than one in 10 murder victims in 2023 were under the age of 18.

The gunfire Wednesday occurred near the city’s historic Union Station, whose front entrance was the backdrop for the victory rally stage. Hundreds of law enforcement personnel were present.

Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce was on stage with quarterback Patrick Mahomes and other teammates at the Super Bowl festivities, but Kelce’s pop superstar girlfriend, Taylor Swift, was back on tour in Australia.

“I am saddened by the tragedy that occurred today,” Kelce posted on X late Wednesday night. “My heart goes out to everyone who came to celebrate with us and was touched. Casey, you mean so much to me.”

published by:

Shweta Kumari

Published on:

February 16, 2024