Shooting at Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl Parade Leaves 22 Injured
22 people were hit by gunfire in a shooting at the end of Wednesday's parade to celebrate the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl win, authorities said, as terrified fans ran for cover and yet another high-profile public event was marred by gun violence. One person was killed.
Eight children among 22 injured in shooting
Eight children were among 22 people hit by gunfire in a shooting at the end of Wednesday's parade to celebrate the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl win, authorities said, sending terrified fans running for cover as yet another high-profile public event was marred by gun violence. One of those victims — a mother of two identified by her radio station as a DJ — was killed.
Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves said three people had been detained as part of the investigation. She said she has heard that fans may have been involved in tackling a suspect but couldn't immediately confirm that.
"I'm angry at what happened today. The people who came to this celebration should expect a safe environment." Graves said. Police did not immediately release any details about the people who were detained or about a possible motive for the shootings. She said firearms had been recovered, but not what kind.
It is the latest sports celebration in the U.S. to end in gun violence, following a shooting that injured several people last year in downtown Denver after the Nuggets' NBA championship, and gunfire last year at a parking lot near the Texas Rangers' World Series championship parade.
Social media users posted shocking video of police running through a crowded scene as people hurriedly scrambled for cover and fled. One video showed someone apparently performing chest compressions on a shooting victim as another person, seemingly writhing in pain, lay on the ground nearby. People screamed in the background.
Another video showed two people chase and tackle a person, holding them down until two police officers arrived.
"All of that is being actively investigated," she said.
Victim identified as a popular radio DJ
Radio station KKFI said in a Facebook post Wednesday evening that Lisa Lopez-Galvan, host of 'Taste of Tejano,' was killed in the shooting.
Lopez-Galvan, whose DJ name was 'Lisa G,' was an extrovert and devoted mother from a prominent Latino family in the area, said Rosa Izurieta and Martha Ramirez, two childhood friends who worked with her at a staffing company. Izurieta said Lopez-Galvan had attended the parade with her husband and her adult son, a die-hard Kansas City sports fan who also was shot.
"She's the type of person who would jump in front of a bullet for anybody — that would be Lisa," Izurieta said.
Kansas City long plagued by gun violence
Kansas City has long struggled with gun violence, and in 2020 it was among nine cities targeted by the U.S. Justice Department in an effort to crack down on violent crime. In 2023 the city matched a record with 182 homicides, most of which involved guns.
Lisa Money, a resident of the city, was trying to gather some confetti near the end of the parade when she heard somebody yell, 'Down, down, everybody down!'
"I can't believe it really happened. Who in their right mind would do something like this? This is supposed to be a day of celebration for everybody in the city and the surrounding area. And then you've got some idiot that wants to come along and do something like this," she said.
Kevin Sanders, 53, of Lenexa, Kansas, said he heard what sounded like firecrackers and then people started running. After that initial flurry, calm returned, and he didn't think much of it. But 10 minutes later, ambulances started showing up.
"It sucks that someone had to ruin the celebration, but we are in a big city," Sanders said.
University Health spokeswoman Nancy Lewis said the hospital was treating eight gunshot victims. Two were in critical condition and six were in stable condition, she said. The hospital also was treating four people for other injuries resulting from the chaos after the shooting, Lewis said.