Everything we know so far about Kansas City shooting with eight children hit
What should have been a day for the people of Kansas City to come together in celebration ended in horror as gunfire erupted killing a mum and injuring 21, including eight children.
Wednesday’s parade was planned to celebrate the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl win but footage from the scene showed people scrambling for cover and even desperate attempts from bystanders to save victims' lives.
The great and good of the Missouri city gathered to celebrate their team's win over San Francisco's 49ers, with the players rolling through the crowd on double-decker buses, as DJs and drummers heralded their arrival.
But then the shooting started. Here is everything we know so far.
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Fans rush for cover as gunfire erupts (AFP via Getty Images)What happened
Throngs had lined the route through the city, with fans climbing trees and street poles or standing on rooftops for a better view. The parade route followed Grand Boulevard before reaching the area around Union Station.
Chiefs owner Clark Hunt was on one of the buses along with players, holding the Lombardi Trophy.
The city and the team each chipped in around $1 million for the event commemorating Travis Kelce, Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs becoming the first team since Tom Brady and the New England Patriots two decades ago to defend their title.
Thousands of fans had gathered by Union Station before the shooting erupted (Getty Images)More than 800 police officers were already on the scene keeping an eye on the parade.
The shooting erupted just after 2 pm local time, with footage from the scene showing the crowds suddenly beginning to run as multiple shots in quick succession were heard.
The shooting outside Union Station happened despite more than 800 police officers who were in the building and around the area, including on top of nearby buildings, said Mayor Quinton Lucas, who attended with his wife and mother and had to run for cover when gunfire broke out.
People flee after shots were fired near the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl LVIII victory parade (AFP via Getty Images)“I think that’s something that all of us who are parents, who are just regular people living each day, have to decide what we wish to do about,” Mayor Lucas said. “Parades, rallies, schools, movies. It seems like almost nothing is safe.”
One dead and 21 injured including eight children
In the chaos that followed, emergency services scrambled to work out who had been injured. As well as injuries from the gunfire, others were hurt as people scrambled for cover.
Eight children were among 22 people hit by gunfire in the shooting, authorities said. One of those victims — a mother of two identified by her radio station as Lisa Lopez-Galvan — was killed.
Radio station KKFI said in a Facebook post Ms Lopez-Galvan, host of “Taste of Tejano,” had been killed in a "senseless act."
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Local Radio DJ Lisa Lopez-Galvan was killed in shooting (LISA LOPEZ-GALVAN/FACEBOOK)“This senseless act has taken a beautiful person from her family and this KC Community,” KKFI said in a statement.
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. Ms 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,” Ms Izurieta 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, Ms Lewis said.
A victim injured is tended to (AFP via Getty Images)Lisa Augustine, spokesperson for Children’s Mercy Kansas City, said the hospital was treating 12 patients from the rally, including 11 children, some of whom suffered gunshot wounds.
St. Luke’s Hospital of Kansas City received one gunshot patient in critical condition and three walk-ins with injuries that were not life-threatening, spokesperson Laurel Gifford said.
“When you have this many casualties, it’s going to get spread out among a lot of hospitals so that you don’t overwhelm any single ER,” said Jill Jensen Chadwick, news director for University of Kansas Health System, which received at least one person injured in the shooting.
The chiefs have said that all players, coaches and staffers are safe and accounted for after the parade shooting. Trainer Rick Burkholder said that he was with coach Andy Reid and other coaches and staff members at the time of the shooting, and that the team was on buses and returning to Arrowhead Stadium.
Armed police quickly mobilised across the area (Getty Images)“We are truly saddened by the senseless act of violence that occurred outside of Union Station at the conclusion of today’s parade and rally,” the team said in a statement.
Areas that had been filled with crowds were empty after the shooting, with police and firefighters standing and talking behind an area restricted by yellow tape.
Have arrests been made
Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves said three people had been arrested 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. A video showed two people chase and tackle a person, holding them down until two police officers arrived.
A person is detained near the scene (AFP via Getty Images)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.
“I’m angry at what happened today. The people who came to this celebration should expect a safe environment.” Ms Graves said.
“All of that is being actively investigated,” she said.
It was later revealed that the shooting was a "personal dispute" between people in the crowd. "First and foremost, I want to stress that preliminary investigative findings have shown there was no nexus to terrorism or homegrown violent extremism. This appeared to be a dispute between several people that ended in gunfire," Graves revealed in a press conference on Thursday.
She added that guns were later recovered, but there isn't yet enough evidence to officially charge the three who were arrested. The department has 24 hours to hold them before they must be released or charged. It's desperately asking for new evidence, such as video or testimony from witnesses, to help with the case.
Police detain someone following the shooting (KETV)
A number of people were detained by police and members of the crowd (KMBC)Investigations continue.
Horrific testimony from the scene
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.
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!”
At first Ms Money thought somebody might be joking until she saw the SWAT team jumping over the fence
Chief players rode on double decker buses along the parade route (mpi34/MediaPunch/IPx)“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,” Mr Sanders said.
Who has spoken out
Missouri’s Republican Gov. Mike Parson and first lady Teresa Parson were at the parade during the gunfire but were unhurt. “Thanks to the professionalism of our security officers and first responders, Teresa and I and our staff are safe and secure,” Mr Parson said in a statement.
President Joe Biden said the shooting “cuts deep in the American soul” and called on people to press Congress to ban assault weapons, to limit high-capacity gun magazines and for other gun measures that have been rejected by Republicans.
“Today’s events should move us, shock us, shame us into acting. What are we waiting for?” he said.
Biden noted that Wednesday was the anniversary of the 2018 high school shooting in Parkland, Florida, that killed 17 people and said there have been more mass shootings in 2024 “than there have been days in the year.”
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