Super Bowl parade shooting stemmed from dispute, police say
Police have announced that they believe a shooting at a parade held to celebrate the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl win stemmed from a dispute between several people.
Gunfire outside a nearby former train station in Kansas City on Wednesday left a mother-of-two dead and 21 people injured, including eight children.
Three people were detained, including two children, and firearms were recovered after shots were fired, police said.
The force said they believe the altercation involved several people, and the shooting was not terror-related.
Officers are now questioning the suspects and investigators are also calling for witnesses, people with mobile phone footage and victims of the violence to call a dedicated hotline.
At a news conference, police chief Stacey Graves said: “We are working to determine the involvement of others. And it should be noted we have recovered several firearms. This incident is still a very active investigation.”
The shooting outside Union Station occurred despite the presence of more than 800 police officers who were in the building and nearby, including on top of nearby structures, according to the Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas.
Leslie Carto, spokesperson for Kansas City’s University Health Hospital, said two of the eight gunshot victims brought to the hospital are still in critical condition and one is in stable condition. The other five have been discharged.
The hospital also treated four people from the rally with non-gunshot injuries. Three of those patients were discharged, Ms Carto said.
Stephanie Meyer, chief nursing officer for Children’s Mercy Kansas City, said it was treating 12 patients from the rally, including 11 children between the ages of six and 15, many of whom suffered gunshot wounds.
All were expected to recover, she said.
When asked about the condition of the children, Ms Meyer said: “Fear. The one word I would use to describe what we saw and how they came to us was fear.”
The Super Bowl celebration, held in the wake of the Chiefs’ win over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, featured player Travis Kelce on stage with other teammates.
Chiefs trainer Rick Burkholder said he was with coach Andy Reid and other coaches and staff members at the time of the shooting, and that the team was on buses and returning to Arrowhead Stadium.
“We are truly saddened by the senseless act of violence that occurred outside of Union Station at the conclusion of today’s parade and rally,” the team said in a statement.
President Joe Biden, who was briefed on the shooting and received updates throughout the day, said the tragedy “cuts deep in the American soul” and called for Congress to take action to prevent gun violence.
“It is time to act. That’s where I stand,” the President said in a statement. “I ask the country to stand with me, to make your voice heard in Congress so we finally act to ban assault weapons, to limit high-capacity magazines, strengthen background checks, [and] keep guns out of the hands of those who have no business owning them or handling them.
Fans had lined the parade route before the shooting, with fans climbing trees and street poles or standing on rooftops for a better view.
Players rolled through the crowd on double-decker buses as DJs and drummers heralded their arrival.
Addition reporting by AP.
