2024 Kansas City Parade Shooting

On February 14, 2024, 33 people were wounded in a mass shooting at the west side of Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri, United States. One person was killed and 22 others were shot, including 11 children. The shooting followed a Super Bowl LVIII victory parade for the Kansas City Chiefs.

Two adults and two juveniles were charged in connection with the shooting, with the adults being charged with murder.

Background

On February 11, 2024, the Kansas City Chiefs won Super Bowl LVIII. On February 14, a victory parade and rally were held, with a municipal budget of almost being allocated. The parade ran from Sixth Street to Union Station, culminating with the team and dignitaries giving speeches at the rally in front of the building. More than 600 Kansas City Police Department officers and 200 other officers were staffed around the events. The crowd was estimated at one million, including many families due to Kansas City metropolitan area schools canceling classes for it.

Shooting

The shooting occurred at approximately 2 p.m. CST, immediately after the parade rally. According to a reporter attending the rally, loud pops could be heard as the confetti began to fall and the Kansas City Chiefs and staff were inside Union Station. Some witnesses claimed that they had heard an altercation before the shooting, with one reporting hearing a woman telling someone else "Not now, this isn’t the place." One of the suspected shooters was chased and tackled by attendees.

Some of the Chiefs players sheltered in place with attendees, such as Trey Smith and James Winchester in a small closet, and helped maintain calm until evacuation. Another attendee who sheltered inside Union Station recalled being told by a security guard to hop the fence due to the shooter, and witnessed head coach Andy Reid and players calming down panicked children. Chiefs players and their families who had attended the parade were escorted from the area and taken back to Arrowhead Stadium shortly after the shooting.

Victims

Twenty-three people were shot, resulting in one homicide and twenty-two injured. The only fatality was Lisa Lopez-Galvan, a Tejano DJ for local radio station KKFI, who died at the scene of the shooting.

Five hospitals received 38 patients, of whom 21 had gunshot wounds. Children's Mercy Hospital received 11 child victims aged between six and fifteen years old, nine of whom had been shot.

Suspects

Three juvenile suspects were initially apprehended, two of whom were armed.

One juvenile was released after it was determined they were not involved with the shooting. The other two remained in custody, and on February 16, were charged with gun-related crimes and resisting arrest, with additional charges expected.

On February 16, a charge for unlawful possession was brought against a man who had picked up a gun from the ground around the time of the shooting. The person was not considered to be involved in the shooting by law enforcement.

On February 20, police apprehended two men, who were separate from the two unidentified juveniles. Both men were charged with second-degree murder in connection of the shooting.

In mid-March, three adults were charged in connection with some of the guns used in the shooting. The three were charged with multiple counts of false statements, straw purchases of firearms, and firearms trafficking.

Investigation

Kansas City police are coordinating with the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to collect physical and digital evidence and interview witnesses and victims. An FBI online portal was created for anyone to submit digital evidence.

Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves stated during a news conference concerning the preliminary investigative findings that the shooting appeared to have been a "dispute between several people that ended in gunfire", and that there is no indication of a "nexus to terrorism or homegrown violent extremism".

Reactions

Missouri Governor Mike Parson attended the station and posted on social media, "State law enforcement personnel are assisting local authorities in response efforts." Missouri legislator and 2024 Anti-Crime Committee member Manny Abarca IV was present during the shooting, and stated his view that Lopez-Galvan and other victims of gun violence in the US are never forgotten. President Joe Biden was briefed, and Mayor Quinton Lucas received calls from the White House offering assistance in the investigation. The House of Representatives held a moment of silence, led by Kansas City area House congressional members Emanuel Cleaver, Sharice Davids, Mark Alford, and Ann Wagner. The Chiefs and the NFL expressed condolences. Other local teams such as the Kansas City Royals and Kansas City Current also expressed condolences.

The Chiefs launched a fund called KC Strong in partnership with United Way of Greater Kansas City, with money raised going to support victims of the shooting, their families and first responders, as well towards violence prevention and mental health support services. The Chiefs, the Hunt Family Foundation and the NFL donated $200,000 to the fund. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and his wife Brittany Mahomes donated $50,000 to the fund, and visited victims of the shooting in hospital. Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, whose relationship drew media attention during the season, each donated $100,000 to GoFundMe pages set up by the Reyes family and the family of Lopez-Galvan, respectively.

Parents of shooting victims of the Parkland high school shooting on February 14, 2018, six years prior, expressed their dismay and lack of surprise due to lax gun laws, while discussing their own shooting anniversary. Kostas Moros, an attorney representing the California Rifle & Pistol Association, argued that calls for gun control were misplaced, noting that at least two of the suspects were juveniles who cannot legally purchase or carry firearms.

Social media users spread misinformation about the identity of a suspect, falsely claiming that a 44-year-old migrant named " Sahil Omar" was the shooter. Posts published online used a picture of a person who was briefly held during the shooting, claiming it was "Omar" instead. The person received death threats due the false claims.

The shooting prompted concerns surrounding security at future parades in the area, namely Kansas City's Saint Patrick's Day parade and North Kansas City's Snake Saturday parade.

Notes

References

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2024 in Missouri
2024 mass shootings in the United States
2020s in Kansas City, Missouri
February 2024 crimes in the United States
Attacks on parades
Crime in Kansas City, Missouri
Deaths by firearm in Missouri
Mass shootings in Missouri
History of the Super Bowl
Parade shooting