Two of the three suspects currently being arrested by Kansas City police in the horrific Super Bowl mass shooting are juveniles, officials announced Thursday.
At a news conference outside the city's police headquarters, Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves said investigators believe the shooting was sparked by a personal dispute between a small group and that the parade was not the target.
At least 21 people were shot and one killed in Wednesday's mass shooting, and the news conference confirmed the death of a popular Kansas City radio DJ.
“This was an argument that ended in gunshots,” the chief said. A total of ten people were subsequently questioned and further arrests were possible.
Officials said the more than two dozen victims ranged in age from eight to 47, with at least half under the age of 16.
Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves (pictured) said at a news conference Thursday morning that the shooting was likely sparked by a personal dispute
Images circulating on social media show a group of people being taken into custody after the shooting, some of whom appear to be teenagers
A man wearing a red tracksuit was quickly taken into custody after the shooting, although it is unclear whether he was involved in the tragedy
Terrified parade-goers flee for their lives after gunmen opened fire shortly after the Super Bowl winners left the stage
Officials said the incident appears to have been fueled by rampant gun violence in Kansas City and that there is currently no “nexus to terrorism.”
The city's fire chief spoke briefly at the news conference and said at least eight victims remained in critical condition.
Images circulated on social media showing at least five people being arrested following the shooting.
Some of them appeared to be teenagers and were handcuffed and taken away by police. It is unclear which of the people photographed belong to the three suspects.
The Kansas City Police Department told that it would not release the names of the people depicted in the images because no charges have been filed against them.
Police have 24 hours to file charges against those arrested. The suspects appeared to be quickly taken into custody after the shooting began around 3:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas had no comment but noted in response to questions from reporters that he would consider blocking a future parade next year.
In a separate press interview at 6 a.m. Thursday, Lucas stated that he might cancel the parade if the Chiefs won again out of an abundance of caution.
Lucas offered few new details about the tragedy early Thursday morning, apologizing for “failing to ensure everyone's safety” at the family event.
“I’m sorry this happened yesterday,” he said.
“We worked hard to put on an extraordinary parade, we spent millions on it, but we failed to keep everyone safe and that is something I feel great guilt about.”
A witness to the shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl parade described a frightening scene in which victims were shot to the ground and people were trampled in the chaos
Popular Kansas City radio DJ Lisa Lopez-Galvan, seen here with her husband, was the only person to lose her life on the day of the shooting, dying of a gunshot wound to the abdomen during surgery at a hospital
This comes after several witnesses gave harrowing accounts of the moment the family event descended into chaos.
Witnesses described a frightening scene with victims shot to the ground and people trampled in the chaos.
More than a million people were expected to have gathered in Kansas City for the celebrations, adding to hectic scenes as huge crowds of people ran en masse for safety.
Rick Reichmeier told KCTV that he was separated from his family at the start of the shooting before witnessing the grisly moment after a woman was shot.
“When I stood up, a woman was probably about 25 feet away from me and there was blood coming out of her mouth as they pumped her breast,” he said.
“I was walking away and I heard a few shots, a few pop-pop-pop-pop, people started running and I was running. “Then all of a sudden people start falling on the ground, I'm falling on the ground, people fall on me.'
Witness Rick Reichmeier said he was separated from his family early in the shooting before seeing a woman with “blood coming out of her mouth while they were pumping her breast.”
Shooting victim Jacob Gooch Jr. (pictured) said his wife and daughter, who was also shot, heard a woman begging a gunman not to start shooting seconds before the gunman circled around filmed to meet as many people as possible
Jacob Gooch Jr., another witness who suffered a gunshot wound to the ankle, claimed a woman pleaded with a gunman, “Don't do it,” seconds before he spun in circles to spray bullets into as many people as possible heap over.
Gooch Jr., who was shot in the chaos along with his wife and son, told CBS Mornings that he heard a young woman tell the gunman, “Not here, this is stupid.”
“My wife and daughter saw the gun come out and start firing,” he said. “My daughter said a lady was holding him back…then he pulled out (the gun) and started shooting and spinning in circles.”
Gooch said he did not see the shooter in person but was at a distance because he remembered initially thinking the shots were fireworks.
He said he was shot in the ankle, his wife was shot through the calf muscle and his son suffered a gunshot wound to the foot, but fortunately his family was OK except for the wounds and returned home from the hospital.