The Super Bowl parade brought hundreds of thousands of people to downtown Kansas City today to celebrate the first back-to-back Super Bowl win in 19 years. While it started as a day of celebration, it ended in tragedy.
The Kansas City Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 in Super Bowl 58 Feb. 11, and schools around the metro area called a “Red Snow Day” so students could attend the parade, hosted by the Kansas City Sports Commission and the Kansas City Chiefs.
“I would say it was pretty cool, and the fanfare is great,” junior Evan Kroll said.
The two-mile parade started at 6th Street in the River Market/Crossroads area, running south on Grand to Union Station where a rally was held. Before the parade started, senior Charles Dean Hood III said people threw footballs across the street, playing catch with other fans.
“My favorite part of the parade was the Chiefs lineBacker Drue Tranquill pointing his finger directly to my phone as the bus drove past us,” Hood said.
The rally was held directly after the parade, with a stage in front of Union Station. The team, Mayor Quinton Lucas and Gov. Mike Parson (R-Mo.) were among those who took the stage to give speeches and interact with the crowd.
However, shortly after the rally wrapped up, shots were fired near the parking garage at Union Station. One person died, and at least 22 others had gunshot wounds, according to the Kansas City Missouri Police Department. Children’s Mercy Hospital reported that their medical staff treated 11 children following the shootings, and a hospital spokesperson said all of the children injured were expected to make a recovery.
“We were getting ready to leave, and there was a huge group of people just running,” senior Stephanie Baker said. “I thought it was a shooting, but then I heard people screaming about a shooting and how people were dead.”
In a press conference shortly after the shooting, Police Chief Stacy Graves said there were 800 law enforcement officers at the parade.
UPDATED FEBRUARY 15, 12:10 p.m.
During a press conference Thursday morning, Graves said the incident started as a dispute between several people at the parade and rally.
“I want to stress that preliminary findings have shown that there was no nexus to terrorism or homegrown violent extremism,” Graves said. “This appeared to be a dispute between several people that ended in gunfire.”
Graves confirmed that 22 shooting victims ranged between 8 and 47 years old, and at least half the victims were under 16 years old. She said 43-year-old Elizabeth Galvan died. Galvan was known locally as KFFI DJ Lisa Lopez.
Graves said three people were taken into custody after the incident, and two of those suspects were juveniles. A third juvenile who was detained was released Thursday, police said.
“It should be noted that we have recovered several firearms,” Graves said. “This incident is still a very active investigation.”
THE RESPONSE
Multiple players sent out prayers and words of thanks on social media, and the Chiefs organization and NFL posted responses.
CHIEFS’ RESPONSE
NFL’s RESPONSE
PLAYERS TURN TO SOCIAL MEDIA
