Kansas City Chiefs parade ends in mass taking pictures; at the very least one lifeless
Police say at the very least one person died and extra had been injured in taking pictures after a Super Bowl victory parade for the Kansas City Chiefs.
A private dispute between a number of individuals erupted in gunfire at a packed celebration of the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory, injuring over 20 individuals and killing a mom of two, authorities mentioned Thursday.
Nearly 1 million individuals had been estimated to have been in downtown Kansas City on Wednesday when gunshots despatched scores of individuals operating for canopy round 2 p.m. outdoors Union Station, a historic depot. Twenty-two individuals ages 8-47 had been wounded by gunfire, mentioned Kansas City, Missouri, Police Chief Stacey Graves at a information convention. About half of the victims are underneath the age of 16, Graves mentioned.
At the rally, police detained three individuals, together with two juveniles, and recovered a number of firearms. No one has been charged in reference to the taking pictures, Graves mentioned. One of the three individuals being questioned by legislation enforcement was tackled by bystanders earlier than being detained. More than 800 officers had been offering safety for the occasion.
Investigators had been working to find out “the involvement of others,” Graves mentioned, including that “there was no nexus to terrorism or home-grown violent extremism.”
Lisa Lopez-Galvan, a mom of two and a beloved host of “Taste of Tejano,” was killed within the taking pictures, radio station KKFI confirmed. “This senseless act has taken a beautiful person from her family and this KC Community,” the station said in a statement.
Bullets ripped through the crowd near the end of the parade, after hundreds of thousands of fans in Kansas City’s red, white and gold walked several miles through the heart of the city’s downtown to Union Station, where a rally was held on an outside lawn with speeches by players and coaches.
Videos from the scene showed throngs of people running as gunfire and screams could be heard in the background. One video showed two people tackle and pin another person to the ground until officers arrived and took the person into custody.
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Seven children who were treated after the shooting at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City have been released, Stephanie Meyer, the hospital’s chief nursing officer, said at a press briefing on Thursday.
Meyer said nine of the eleven child victims of the shooting admitted to the hospital had suffered gunshot wounds. The youngest is aged six, she said.
Doctors expect all of the three children still in treatment to fully recover, she added.
“They are stabilized. They’re doing well,” Meyer said. “I think prayers and hope for them is exactly what they need.”
Five of the eight gunshot victims of the shooting admitted to the emergency department at University Health hospital in Kansas City have been released, Dr. Mark Steele, the hospital’s chief clinical officer, said at a press conference on Thursday afternoon.
Of the three remaining, one is in stable condition, Steele said. The other two “remain in critical condition in our ICU, but they both are improving, so that’s good news,” he said.
Dr. Dustin Neel, a trauma surgeon, said the first victim of the shooting to arrive at the hospital is still in critical condition. He said the victim, a young man likely over 18, sustained an injury that was “90% lethal.”
“Had he not made it here at fast as he had, he might not be with us now,” Neel said.
Neel said some patients came to the hospital with broken bones sustained from the rush to escape the gunfire.
More: Photos show Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade go from celebration to deadly shooting
Nine of 12 people taken to Children’s Mercy hospital in Kansas City after the shooting have been released as of Thursday afternoon, said Lisa Augustin, a spokesperson for the hospital. Three were still being treated and are expected to recover.
Of the 12 patients, 11 were children 6 to 15. Nine of the minors had gunshot wounds.
Police have said the youngest victim of the shooting is 8-years-old.
Trey Filter, a 40-year-old lifelong Chiefs fan, joined a group effort to tackle a person who may have opened fire into the crowd of fans.
“There was a frenzy,” Filter instructed USA TODAY. “People were freaking out.”
Filter and his household had been leaving the parade for his or her home in Wichita when photographs first broke out, scattering the group. When he heard a lady shout that somebody had a gun, he “just went for it.”
As another man tried to restrain the suspected shooter’s hands, Filter reached underneath the man but couldn’t find any gun.
“I started hitting him in the ribs,” Filter mentioned.
He didn’t let up till police pulled him off by his ft. Meanwhile, Filter’s spouse picked up a “huge assault rifle” close by.
Once police had the state of affairs underneath management, Filter and his household didn’t stick round. “Let’s get the hell out of here,” he instructed his spouse. “We didn’t know if there was more drama or what was going on.”
Kansas City Police Officer Alayna Gonzalez instructed USA TODAY on Thursday: “The individual noticed being taken to the bottom by Chiefs followers is in police custody for additional investigation.” Gonzalez mentioned fees haven’t been filed as of Thursday.
– Cybele Mayes-Osterman
University Health, a hospital in Kansas City, introduced on Thursday that two individuals with gunshot wounds stay in crucial situation.
The hospital acquired eight of the gunshot victims. As of Thursday afternoon, 5 have been discharged and one was in steady situation, based on an e mail to USA TODAY from hospital spokesperson Leslie Carto. Four individuals with non-gunshot accidents had been despatched to the hospital; three have been despatched home.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, in collaboration with Kansas City police, arrange a webpage the place individuals with movies of the lethal taking pictures can share it with investigators.
The web site asks customers to add information together with a brief description of what’s proven within the recording. The FBI, in a information launch, mentioned it’s searching for any movies “from the Super Bowl taking pictures and any video of the shooters trying to flee the scene.”
Lisa Lopez-Galvan, whose DJ identify was “Lisa G,” was one of many well-known hosts of a radio present that specialised in Tejano, usually known as Tex-Mex, a method of music identified for its mix of Mexican and U.S. influences.
For years, Lopez-Galvan, 43, listened to the “Taste of Tejano” radio present whereas working as a non-public DJ, usually employed to carry out at native weddings, quinceañeras and an American Legion bar. After a number of stints volunteering for the present, she was employed as a co-host in March 2022.
“For Lisa music is life and a supply of happiness,” a biography of Lopez-Galvan on the KKFI web site.
Rosa Izurieta and Martha Ramirez, two childhood buddies who labored together with her at a staffing firm, instructed the Associated Press Lopez-Galvan’s household is energetic within the Latino neighborhood and her father based the town’s first mariachi group, Mariachi Mexico, within the Nineteen Eighties.
Manny Abarca, a Jackson County legislator who knew Lopez-Galvan for over a decade, mentioned among the many issues he’ll keep in mind most clearly about Lopez-Galvan is her smile.
“I’ve witnessed that smile throughout DJ tools, and on the stage of our largest Fiesta in #KansasCity,” he wrote on X. “I cannot let her demise go in (useless). I’ll legislate, I’ll combat and I WILL do all the things in my energy to vary this State and City for the higher.”
Multiple Kansas City Chiefs gamers, a few of whom spoke to the large crowd shortly earlier than photographs had been fired, took to social media to ask for prayers for the victims, thank first responders and demand gun reform.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes said on X he’s “praying for Kansas City” within the wake of the taking pictures.
“I’m heartbroken over the tragedy that took place right now,” wrote Travis Kelce, the Chiefs’ tight finish. “My coronary heart is with all who got here out to have a good time with us and have been affected. KC, you imply the world to me.”
Austin Reiter, the Chiefs offensive lineman mentioned, “We are nonetheless struggling to make sense of the tragedy that occurred right now. Our hearts are with the victims and all these traumatized by this expertise. Thank you to the police, first responders, and all those that labored collectively to get individuals out of harms means.”
Charles Omenihu, defensive end, asked “When are we going to repair these gun legal guidelines? How many extra individuals need to die to say sufficient is sufficient?” He added that “It’s too straightforward for the improper individuals to acquire weapons in America and that’s a FACT.”
Kevin Sanders, 53, of Lenexa, Kansas, mentioned he heard what seemed like firecrackers after which noticed individuals operating. After that preliminary flurry, calm returned, and he didn’t suppose a lot of it. But he mentioned 10 minutes later, ambulances began displaying up.
“It sucks that someone had to ruin the celebration, but we are in a big city,” Sanders mentioned.
Ofilio Martinez, 48, mentioned he heard photographs fired a pair blocks away about 10 or quarter-hour earlier than the gunfire close to the Union Station rally.
“This is making me nervous, scared,” he mentioned.
Gunfire broke out lower than half an hour after Chiefs followers concluded their parade in celebration of their Super Bowl victory.
Contributing: Associated Press; Minnah Arshad, Krystal Nurse, USA TODAY
