US Super Bowl parade shooting: 1 dead, more than 20 injured

World Thursday 15/February/2024 08:14 AM
By: DW
US Super Bowl parade shooting: 1 dead, more than 20 injured

Kansas City: At least one person died and more than 20 people were wounded on Wednesday after shots were fired at the end of the Chiefs' Super Bowl victory parade in Kansas City, Missouri.

Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves said on Wednesday that the gunshot wound total had risen to 22 people, eight of them children.

However she said police were still working to ascertain a total number of victims and said the case was "still an active investigation."

Police chief Graves said police detained a third individual, having initially reported two detentions.

"We do have three persons detained, and under investigation for today's incident," she told reporters, alluding to videos posted online that showed fans assisting police in subduing an individual. "We are working to determine if one of the three are the one that was in that video where fans assisted police."

Police were working to identify the deceased victim and notify their family as soon as possible, and were trying to connect the injured with their loved ones, she said.

"At this time ... the scene has been made safe and it's been cleared," Graves said, but added that investigations continued at the site.

A local Kansas radio station, KKFI, later said that one of its DJs, Lisa Lopez, was killed in the shooting.

"This senseless act has taken a beautiful person from her family and this KC Community," the station 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 in a statement.

The Kansas City Chiefs condemned the shooting in a statement, writing they were "truly saddened by the senseless act of violence" and that their "hearts go out to the victims, their families, and all of Kansas City."

The statement thanked law enforcement officials and first responders and said all of the American football team's players, coaches and staff were safe and accounted for after the shooting.

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, who also attended the celebration, said at a press briefing that he was "incredibly upset, disappointed" about the shooting.

"I don't want us to have to in our country — for every big event — think about a concern of being shot," he said.

"I'm angry at what happened today," said Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves. "The people who came to this celebration should expect a safe environment."

The Kansas City shooting is at least the 47th mass shooting in the US so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive,  which counts cases in which four or more people were hit, not including the shooter.

Thousands of people had gathered in downtown Kansas City to celebrate the Chiefs' winning this year's NFL Superbowl on Sunday night with members of the team.