02/15/2024 10:34 pm (current 02/15/2024 10:40 pm)
Fans fled after shots were fired ©APA/AFP
According to investigators, the gun attack during the celebration of the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl victory, which left one person dead, was due to a personal escalation of “a fight between several people.” Kansas City, Missouri, Police Chief Stacey Graves said Thursday that the attack was not related to domestic “terrorism” or “violent extremism.” Two of the three suspects arrested are teenagers.
The city's police chief, Stacey Graves, did not provide further details about the motive, but ruled out terrorism. Weapons were confiscated from prisoners, she said. The investigation is still ongoing.
Shooting during the Kansas City Chiefs' final football victory celebration left one person dead and more than 20 injured. According to the police, the victims are between 8 and 47 years old, that is, around half of them are under 16 years old.
Local radio station KKFI announced on the online network Facebook that its DJ Lisa Lopez was killed in the gun attack at the Victory Parade on Wednesday. “This senseless act took a wonderful person from his family and his city.”
Children's Mercy Hospital said at least 11 children between the ages of six and 15 were among those injured. Nine of them suffered gunshot wounds. A hospital spokesman later said that all attack victims admitted there were expected to recover.
Hundreds of thousands of people gathered for the parade in Kansas City, where the team completed a two-mile-long celebratory procession on double-decker buses amid their fans. In unseasonably warm weather, fans, almost all dressed in the club's red colors, cheered their players in a sea of red and gold confetti. The team won the Super Bowl, the final game of the NFL's professional football league, against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday in Las Vegas.
Suddenly, gunshots were heard in the crowd, causing panic among the many fans. “I thought it was fireworks,” witness John O’Connor told The Kansas City Star. He heard “between 15 and 20 gunshots in a short period of time.” The victims were treated while lying on the ground before being taken away on stretchers by rescuers.
Paul Contreras, who attended the parade with his three daughters, told CNN he subdued and disarmed one of the armed men before police arrived. “I got at the right angle with him and took him down from behind,” he said. “I knock him down and push him with all my weight. And then another good Samaritan comes and helps me.”
Police would only say that three suspects were arrested near historic Union Station. The investigation into the motives was ongoing.
The Kansas City Chiefs said they were “deeply saddened by this senseless act of violence.” The entire team, its employees and their families were therefore safe. Star Travis Kelce said he was “heartbroken by the tragedy.” He wrote on online service X (Twitter): “My heart goes out to everyone who came to celebrate with us today and is now affected.” His world-famous girlfriend, American singer Taylor Swift, did not participate in the victory parade.
“I’m angry about what happened today,” said Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves. “People who attended this celebration should expect a safe environment.” Mayor Quinton Lucas said the victory celebration was “a day that many people have been looking forward to. Something they will remember for the rest of their lives. And they shouldn't have to remember the threat of gun violence.”
There should be no fear of “getting shot” at every major event in the US, Lucas said. US President Biden has once again called for stricter gun laws. Crime in Kansas City “should move us, shock us, shame us, and move us to action.” He called on US citizens to “make their voices heard in Congress” so that US gun laws would finally be strengthened.