The Kansas City Super Bowl Parade Shooting: What We Know

The Kansas City Super Bowl Parade Shooting: What We Know


A shooting near Union Station in Kansas City, Mo., on Wednesday afternoon left one person dead and at least 22 others with gunshot wounds, including nine children.

The eruption of violence came as thousands of people had gathered for a public celebration of the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl win, and transformed a day of joy and civic pride into one of loss and fear.

Here is what we know about the shooting so far:

It was unclear who was responsible for the shooting, but it appeared to have stemmed from a dispute between several people, Chief Stacey Graves of the Kansas City police said. “There was no nexus to terrorism or homegrown violent extremism,” she said.

Several guns were recovered and police said they had initially taken three young people into custody but had released one after determining that the person was not involved. Two people who are still detained are under 18, Chief Graves said on Thursday, but she did not name them. No charges have been filed.

A police spokeswoman, Alayna Gonzalez, said on Thursday night that investigators were working with juvenile prosecutors to “determine applicable charges” against the two teenagers.

The chief asked the public to provide any video or other information that could help the authorities determine what had happened.

Elizabeth Galvan, 43, a D.J. and radio host, who was also known as Lisa Lopez-Galvan, was killed in the parade shooting, according to Chief Graves.

“She was the life of a party — and her job as a local D.J. frequently brought her to the center of her community’s celebrations,” said her friend, Lisa Lopez.

“She was loved by everybody in our community,” said Ms. Lopez, an executive administrative assistant to the editor of The Kansas City Star. “Our Hispanic community lost a beautiful, wonderful person.”

Chief Graves said on Thursday that the victims’ ages ranged from 8 to 47. Half were under 16 years old.

Medical centers in the area took in more than two dozen patients, hospital officials said.

Children’s Mercy Hospital said it was treating 11 children, ages 6 to 15, and one mother who would not leave her child during the shooting. Nine of the children suffered gunshot wounds. None of the children were in critical condition, and all were expected to recover.

Twelve people were taken to University Health, formerly Truman Medical Center. Eight of them were being treated for gunshot wounds, including two in critical condition.

One victim with a gunshot wound is in serious condition at Saint Luke’s Hospital. Three other people walked in with injuries.

The celebration of Kansas City’s victory included a parade through the city’s downtown and ended with a rally in front of Union Station, an Amtrak hub and tourist spot.

“As soon as the rally concluded, there were shots fired on the west side of Union Station,” Chief Graves said, adding, “I know one of the suspects was immediately pursued on foot.”

When the chaos erupted, many attendees said it was hard to know where to go.

At first, the shots sounded like fireworks, said Ian Johnson, who had been selling hot dogs near the main event stage. Only when fans started running — some of them took shelter under his hot dog tent — did he realize that a shooting was underway.

Courtney Brown, of Independence, Mo., and her two sons were also near the stage when the gunfire began. She didn’t hear shots, she said. But she did hear someone shout, “Get down.”

Her instincts told her to flee, so she told her children to keep moving. “We were almost trampled twice,” she said. The three of them locked arms and huddled near a barricade until the crush of the crowd had eased.

Gov. Laura Kelly of Kansas had to be evacuated and posted on social media that she was “out of harm’s way.” Gov. Mike Parson of Missouri and his wife were both “safe and secure,” the governor’s office said.

The football team said that all the players, staff and families had also made it away from the event safely.

Patrick Mahomes, the quarterback who led his team to victory on Sunday, said on social media that he was “praying for Kansas City.”

Other players shared similar messages of support to the community that had gathered downtown.

Guard Trey Smith thanked the emergency personnel “who ran towards the sound of danger,” and linebacker Drue Tranquill recognized the efforts of doctors caring for the people who had been shot. Marquez Valdes-Scantling, a receiver who caught a touchdown in Sunday’s game, sought to connect with the children who were being treated at a local children’s hospital, to offer them support “any way I can.”

Reporting was contributed by Traci Angel, Kevin Draper, Colbi Edmonds Jacey Fortin, Gaya Gupta Adeel Hassan Jesus Jiménez, Ben Shpigel and Jenny Vrentas.





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