In the United States, a parade honoring the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl triumph was marred by gun violence, killing at least one person. The horrific shooting that occurred on Wednesday left 21 others wounded, according to the police. Eight of those individuals were minors.
At a news conference, Chief Stacey Graves of the Kansas City Police Department revealed the number of casualties from the shooting and announced the arrest of three suspects. She couldn’t corroborate the rumors that circulated among fans that they helped bring in a suspect, but she had heard that they were involved.
“I’m angry at what happened today. The people who came to this celebration should expect a safe environment,” she said. No information regarding the individuals detained or the possible reasons behind the shootings was promptly disclosed by Graves. She mentioned the recovery of firearms but refrained from specifying the type of weaponry utilized.
“All of that is being actively investigated,” she said. People scurried for shelter and ran away as footage surfaced online showing cops rushing through a chaotic scene. While one individual appeared to be administering chest compressions to a shooting victim, another was seen lying on the ground, visibly in agony, nearby.
Screams could be heard distantly. There was also footage showing two individuals pursuing and then tackling a person, who was held down until the arrival of two police officers. The victim was named Lisa Lopez, a disc jockey and host of the show Taste of Tejano on local radio station KKFI.
“This senseless act has taken a beautiful person from her family and this KC Community,” KKFI said in a statement. Eight of the casualties were “what we consider to be immediately life-threatening patients,” according to Ross Grundyson, the local fire chief. “We had seven with life-threatening injuries. We had six that had minor injuries,” he added.
Even with over 800 police officers on duty during the Chiefs’ victory parade and rally, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas stated that it was impossible to guarantee total safety due to the widespread availability of firearms and gun violence in the US. “Parades, rallies, schools, films – it seems like almost nothing is safe,” Quinton told reporters, relating his experience of fleeing for shelter when gunfire rang out.
“I’m incredibly upset, disappointed. I was there with my wife, I was there with my mother. We never would have thought that we – along with Chiefs players, along with fans, hundreds of thousands of people – would be forced to run for our safety today,” he added.
Before the shooting, the day was filled with joy as fans flocked to the streets of Kansas City to celebrate the American football club, the Chiefs, following their second consecutive win at the yearly Super Bowl championship games. The event marked the last game of the NFL playoff season and the presentation of the Vince Lombardi Trophy to the victorious squad.
The Chiefs rallied from a deficit to defeat the 49ers in Sunday’s Super Bowl, a game that went into overtime. Celebrities and fans gathered in Kansas City’s downtown on Wednesday for hometown celebrations, complete with confetti cannons and DJs. To take the lead in the procession and meet the spectators, the players themselves boarded double-decker buses.
LET’S DO THIS THING!!! pic.twitter.com/DgqRnDBsph
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) February 14, 2024
President Joe Biden of the United States has often demanded stricter gun control laws following major shootings. “Pray for those killed and injured today in Kansas City, and for our country to find the resolve to end this senseless epidemic of gun violence,” Biden and his wife said.
A research group known as the Gun Violence Archive has recorded 48 mass shootings in the United States this year. A mass shooting is defined as an occurrence in which four or more individuals are shot, not counting the assailant. In his remarks, Mayor Lucas addressed the alarming statistics of gun violence.
“When you have people who decide to bring guns to events when you have people who are deciding to try to mar events – celebratory ones like this one – all of us start to become members of this club that none of us want to be a part of, which is those who have experienced mass shootings,” he said. “I hope, for Kansas City, this is one of the last times we experience those.”
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