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Police are working to determine who opened fire and why after one person was killed and 20 others were injured at the end of the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl victory rally. Police swarmed the area, confetti still blowing in the wind.
Children were among those shot, authorities said, as an estimated one million people gathered Wednesday just steps from Union Station in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, for a parade and rally celebrating the Chiefs' repeat championship victory. While the players were still on stage, chaos broke out.
Three people were arrested and an unspecified number of weapons were seized when officers converged, Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves said. As of Wednesday evening, no charges had been filed and no suspects had been named.
“We do not have a motive, but we are asking those who may have any information, a witness or video to contact police,” the chief said at a news conference Wednesday.
The shooting was the second in a year at a major title celebration in U.S. sports, after two people were injured in June when Denver fans left a parade for the NBA's Nuggets. The attack in Kansas City was another place where Americans saw their sense of safety undermined by gun violence after shootings at churches, schools, grocery stores and outlet malls. And according to the Gun Violence Archive, which like counts those in which four or more people are shot without counting a perpetrator, it was at least the 48th mass shooting in the United States this year.
“I am angry about what happened today,” the Kansas City police chief said Wednesday. “People who came to this celebration should expect a safe environment.”
Police are now collecting physical and digital evidence and interviewing witnesses and victims, Graves said. The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives both responded to Kansas City to assist police, a Justice Department spokesman said.
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Radio DJ Lisa Lopez-Galvan died after being shot at the rally, her employer KKFI 90.1 FM said. Police have not identified the person who died in the shooting and have not released details about their death.
“We are absolutely devastated by the loss of such a great person who gave so much to KKFI and the KC community,” station spokeswoman Kelly Dougherty said in an email to .
Authorities were still working to determine the number of victims, Graves said Wednesday. Four hospitals admitted a total of 29 patients – 19 with gunshot wounds – from the shooting, their staff told .
Children's Mercy Hospital admitted 11 children between the ages of 6 and 15 – nine of whom had been shot – from the scene, said hospital spokeswoman Lisa Augustine.
“This is absolutely a tragedy the likes of which we never expected in Kansas City and one we will remember for some time to come,” Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said at a news conference Wednesday.
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Witness describes the moment he attacked a man with a gun at the Kansas City Chiefs rally
Paul Contreras was at the event with his daughters when people started running.
Contreras then saw someone moving “in the opposite direction” and heard someone shouting to stop him, he told 's Erin Burnett on Wednesday.
Contreras hit the person from behind and attacked him he is knocking a gun to the ground, he said.
“You don’t think about it. It’s just a reaction,” Contreras said.
Two other participants then intervened to help restrain the person.
Police arrived at the scene and handcuffed the person pinned to the ground, video shows.
“He fought the whole time,” Contreras told . “And we fought him to keep him down.”
It is unclear whether the person Contreras attacked was among the people police said they had arrested. “We are working to determine if any of the three are the ones seen in a video of fans helping police,” Graves told reporters.
The celebration began with Chiefs players, including Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes, waving to fans on double-decker buses as they rolled through the city. Some players left their rides to walk the parade route, cheering on fans along the way.
At a victory rally following the parade, several players noted the team's ties to the city.
The event came to an end. Then shots were fired.
Manny Abarca and his 5-year-old daughter had left the main stage area when they heard screams and saw a flood of people running toward them, he told 's Laura Coates.
“People said, 'Guns, police, go,'” said Abarca, a former Treasurer of the Kansas City Public School Board.
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People flee after shots were fired near the area where a Kansas City Chiefs pep rally was taking place on Wednesday, February 14.
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A police officer looks around the area in front of Union Station after the shooting.
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One person is receiving medical treatment following the shooting.
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Police officers respond to the shooting.
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An estimated 1 million people were in downtown Kansas City on Wednesday to celebrate the Chiefs' back-to-back Super Bowl titles.
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An injured person receives help.
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Ambulances can be seen in front of Union Station.
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People run away after shots were fired on Wednesday.
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People take cover near the crime scene.
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A police officer responds to the shooting outside Union Station.
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Police officers and medical personnel respond near the scene.
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Emergency workers bring a stretcher into Union Station.
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A huge crowd can be seen in front of Union Station, where the pep rally took place after the parade.
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A few Chiefs fans leave the area after shots were fired.
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Police cars line up after the shooting.
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Police forces respond on site.
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Police and medical personnel gather around an injured person.
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A view of the Union Station area after the shooting.
He said he picked up his daughter and was staying at a nearby restaurant with Kansas City Chiefs players, owners, family members and head coach Andy Reid.
Abarca is young The daughter went into “protocol mode” and told her father: “This is like training,” he said.
Madison Anderes, 24, was at the event with her brother and mother when they heard what they initially thought were fireworks, she told .
“He has a gun! He has a gun!” Then someone screamed before a second round of bangs rang out, much louder this time. “That’s when all the chaos broke out.”
Others were thrown to the ground as everyone began to run.
“I felt like I was going to die, I felt like a sitting duck and I was going to get shot,” she said.
Then Anderes got up and ran with her brother and mother to a store where about ten other people were crowded, she said. That's when she said she saw police enter the scene.
Lucas, the mayor, was at Union Station when the shooting broke out.
“I was in Union Station, we heard something, some of us start running and I see a stream of officers going the exact other direction with their guns drawn, ready to meet the danger,” Lucas said. “People…reacted absolutely immediately. But I wish we lived in a world where they didn’t have to do that.”
Hundreds of officers were present at the event, including on buildings – but people were shot “within a few moments,” the mayor said.
“It seems like almost nothing is certain,” he said.
The Kansas City Chiefs players, coaches and staff are all responsible and safe, the organization said. “We are truly saddened by the senseless act of violence that occurred outside Union Station at the end of today’s parade and rally,” the Chiefs said in a statement.
Star tight end Travis Kelce expressed his concern about the shooting: “I am heartbroken by the tragedy that occurred today. My heart goes out to everyone who celebrated with us and was affected. KC, you mean everything to me,” he posted on X.
President Joe Biden said in a statement that the Super Bowl victory should have been a joyous occasion.
“To see that joy turn into tragedy in Kansas City today hurts deeply in the American soul. Today's events should move us, shock us, shame us and move us to action. What are we waiting for? What else do we have to see? How many more families need to be torn apart?”