A shooting took place on Wednesday during Kansas City’s Super Bowl parade, leaving one person dead and more than 20 others injured, CNN reports. Authorities have not yet identified the shooter, the Kansas City police chief said at a news conference, but three people have been detained. Police have not identified a motive.
Per the New York Times, hundreds of thousands of fans gathered to celebrate the Chiefs’ Sunday night victory against the San Francisco 49ers. But the crowd erupted into panic when gunshots sounded near the city’s densely populated Union Station around 2pm CT (CNN reports that players were still onstage during the shooting). At least 22 people suffered gunshot wounds, Chief Ross Grundyson of the Kansas City, Mo., Fire Department said, though that number may continue to rise. Of those 22, eight were classified as immediately life-threatening injuries, seven as life-threatening injuries, and six as minor injuries. A spokesperson for Children’s Mercy told the Times it is treating 12 patients from the rally, 11 of which are children. Nine of the children have suffered gunshot wounds, the spokeswoman added.
Chief Stacey Graves of the Kansas City Police Department said during a press conference that authorities are working to identify the lone victim and have not yet notified the family. While authorities have not released the names of the detainees, police said that at least two of the people in custody were armed. The AP says there were 800 police officers in the building and surrounding area, though some social media users claim videos show fans attacking a potential suspect (Chief Graves was unable to confirm whether this was the case).
“As soon as the rally concluded, there were shots fired on the west side of Union Station,” Chief Graves said. “I know one of the suspects was immediately pursued on foot.”
Authorities are in the process of setting up a hotline for victims and witnesses, Chief Graves added. She has also asked the public to provide any information that might help the police understand the details of what took place on Wednesday.
The governors of both Kansas and Missouri were reportedly in attendance at the parade, along with other state and local politicians. Gov. Laura Kelly of Kansas tweeted that she was evacuated and “out of harm’s way,” while Gov. Mike Parson of Missouri and his wife were marked “safe and secure,” according to a tweet from the governor’s office. The mayor of Kansas City, Quinton Lucas, was also in attendance when the shooting took place, along with his wife and mother.
Praying for Kansas City… 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽
— Patrick Mahomes II (@PatrickMahomes) February 14, 2024
“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,” Lucas said at a news conference on Wednesday afternoon.
Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes also offered his condolences, tweeting that he was “praying for Kansas City” on Wednesday afternoon.
Emily Leibert , 2024-02-15 01:13:50
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