KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Investigators in Kansas City are trying to untangle who is responsible for a shooting at the Chiefs' Super Bowl celebration that killed one woman, injured more than 20 people and panicked thousands of people who moments before had been reveling in the NFL team's victory.
Police said a dispute may have led to the shooting, as gunshots rang out at the end of the celebration outside the city’s historic Union Station. Fans had lined the parade route and some even climbed trees and street poles or stood on rooftops to watch as players passed by on double-decker buses. The team said all players, coaches, staffers and their families were safe and accounted for after the shooting.
Mayor Quinton Lucas, who attended with his wife and mother and ran for safety when shots were fired, said the shooting happened despite the presence of more than 800 police officers in the building and nearby.
Here’s what we know:
THE VICTIMS
The 22 people injured in the shooting ranged in age from 8 to 47, and half of them were under the age of 16, Police Chief Stacey Graves said at a news conference Thursday. A mother of two was killed.
Radio station KKFI said via Facebook that Lisa Lopez-Galvan, the host of “Taste of Tejano,” was killed. Lopez-Galvan, whose DJ name was “Lisa G,” was an extrovert and devoted mother, said Rosa Izurieta and Martha Ramirez, two childhood friends who worked with her at a staffing company. Izurieta said Lopez-Galvan attended the parade with her husband and her adult son, a loyal Kansas City sports fan who also was shot.
Lopez-Galvan played at weddings, quinceañeras and at an American Legion bar and grill, mixing Tejano, Mexican and Spanish music with R&B and hip hop. Izurieta and Ramirez said Lopez-Galvan’s family is active in the Latino community, and her father founded the city’s first mariachi group, Mariachi Mexico, in the 1980s.
Eleven children were taken to a children’s hospital, nine of them with gunshot wounds, an official said. Three children were still being treated Thursday and all were expected to recover.
Eight gunshot victims were taken to another hospital Wednesday. Officials there said two were in critical condition Thursday and five had been discharged. Three of four people injured in the chaos after the shooting had been discharged.
At a third hospital, a gunshot victim who was in critical condition was upgraded to serious condition, an official said Thursday afternoon. Four people injured after the shooting were treated there and released.
THE WITNESSES
The police chief said the parade likely attracted 1 million people in the city with a population of about 470,000 people and a metropolitan area of about 2 million.
Two members of the crowd could be seen in a video tackling a person.
Trey Filter of Wichita, Kansas, said he was walking to his car with his wife and two children when he saw “a mess starting to unfold.” He and another man tackled a person and kept him pinned down until officers arrived. It wasn’t immediately clear if the person was involved in the shooting, but Filter’s wife, Casey, saw a gun nearby and picked it up.
Hank Hunter, a sophomore at a Kansas high school, and a friend ran when people started hitting the ground. After his friend got hurt jumping a barricade, a guard ushered him into Union Station, where Chiefs Coach Andy Reid consoled the teen.
Chiefs offensive lineman Trey Smith shared his WWE title belt to help calm a young boy. Smith, who sported the belt during the celebration, noticed the frightened boy, who was with his father. He told Good Morning America that he and long snapper James Winchester were among those sheltering in a closet and that Winchester “was very instrumental in keeping people calm.”
Gene Hamilton, 61, of Wichita, Kansas, said he was sitting in the area when he heard what sounded like a lot of fireworks and everyone was running. Hamilton said he found it unnerving that the upbeat rally music continued amid the confusion.
Manuel Vigil, 43, said he heard shots that sounded like fireworks as he posed for pictures with a group near where a band had played. It was so shocking that no one ran at first, he said.
THE INVESTIGATION
Police said Thursday they had detained three juveniles but released one who they determined wasn’t involved in the shooting, leaving two in custody. Police Chief Graves said Wednesday that several firearms were recovered and that investigators were working to determine whether other people were involved.
Police did not release more details about those who were detained or the weapons seized.
Investigators urged witnesses, people with cellphone footage and victims of the violence to call a dedicated hotline.
In a message posted on social media, Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said she will use every tool at her disposal to get answers. “We will get through this together," she said. "We will heal together. And we will fight together.”
CITY’S HISTORY
Kansas City has struggled with gun violence, and in 2020 it was among nine cities chosen by the U.S. Justice Department in an effort to crack down on violent crime. In 2023, the city matched its record with 182 homicides, most of which involved guns.
Mayor Lucas has joined with mayors across the country in calling for new laws to reduce gun violence, including mandating universal background checks.
MISSOURI GUN LAWS
Wednesday’s shooting occurred in a state with few gun regulations and historic tension over how cities handle crime. But what, if any, action Missouri’s Republican-led Legislature will take in response to the shooting is unclear. Dozens of policymakers from Missouri and neighboring Kansas were caught in the chaos. Some have vowed to take action. Efforts to make it harder to own and possess firearms are unlikely to pass in the state’s GOP-led Legislature. A rare exception to Republicans’ fierce resistance to gun regulations is an effort to crack down on celebratory gunfire, which has been an issue in Kansas City.
VIOLENCE AT SPORTS CELEBRATIONS
Wednesday's shooting is the latest at a sports celebration in the U.S. A shooting wounded several people last year in Denver after the Nuggets’ NBA championship.
CHAMPIONSHIP CELEBRATION SECURITY
Kansas City’s mayor and security experts say it could be time to rethink championship celebrations. Mayor Quinton Lucas said Thursday that the city will continue to celebrate its victories and next month’s St. Patrick’s Day parade will go on as scheduled. But Lucas told local television station KMBC that if the Chiefs win another Super Bowl, it might be better to have a smaller party at their home stadium, where security can be managed more easily. Security experts say large gatherings and the prevalence of guns can be a deadly combination.