Paramedics remove an injured person from Union Station near the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl III championship parade on February 14, 2024 in Kansas City, Missouri. Multiple people were injured in a shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl championship rally on Wednesday, local police said.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP
- A mass shooting occurred at the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl victory rally, injuring one person and 21 others.
- Many of the victims had “life-threatening injuries.”
- Paul Contreras said he tackled and disarmed one of the suspected gunmen.
A mass shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl championship rally on Wednesday caused panic among a crowd of fans, leaving one person dead and 21 injured.
Gunshots rang out just after jubilant Chiefs players addressed a cheering crowd, sending shocked fans and VIPs fleeing as a joyful morning celebrating the NFL championship came to a tragic end. .
Police say three people are in custody after the attack near Union Station in Kansas City, but the motive for the shooting is still under investigation.
Fire Chief Ross Grandison said at a news conference that many of the victims had “life-threatening injuries.”
Local DJ Lisa Lopez was killed in an assault, the radio station said.
“This senseless act has taken a beautiful person from her family and this KC community,” KKFI posted on Facebook, referring to Kansas City.
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Children's Mercy Hospital said it was treating 12 people, 11 of them children, and nine with gunshot wounds after the shooting.
A hospital spokesperson said all were expected to recover.
Paul Contreras, who was at the rally with his three daughters, said he tackled and disarmed one of the gunmen before police arrived.
Contreras said on CNN:
I got him at the right angle and I hit him from behind. And when I hit him from behind, I knocked the gun out of his hand or sleeve.
“I pull him down and put all my weight on him, and another good Samaritan comes and helps me.”
The victim was treated as he lay on the ground and then carried away on a stretcher amid the commotion and crowds, while hundreds of police guarding the event rushed to clear the scene.
Chiefs star Travis Kelce said he was “heartbroken.”
“My heart goes out to those who celebrated with me and those affected. KC, you mean the world to me,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes wrote on social media that he was “praying for Kansas City,” and the team said in a statement that it was “truly saddened by this senseless act of violence.”
People run after shots are fired near the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl III victory parade in Kansas City, Missouri. One person was killed and nine others were injured in a shooting at a packed parade celebrating the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl victory Wednesday, the city's fire department said.
US President Joe Biden called Wednesday's mass shooting a “serious situation” and called on Americans to rally behind his call for Congress to enact gun reform.
“Today's events will move, shock and shame us into action,” Biden said in a White House statement.
He urged Americans to “make your voices heard in Congress and ultimately ban assault weapons, limit high-capacity magazines, strengthen background checks, and fight for ownership and handling of firearms. We called on everyone to take action to keep guns out of the hands of people who don't have the means to do so.”
Moments before the shooting, Kelce and his teammates were soaking in the praise of a crowd of red-shirted fans.
There were no signs of trouble as hundreds of thousands of supporters wrapped in red and gold confetti rode in a procession of double-decker buses to celebrate Chiefs players along the 3km route.
More than 1 million people are expected to attend the parade, which was held in unseasonably sunny and warm weather in downtown Kansas City, local officials said.
Mass shootings are common in the United States, where there are more guns than people, and about one-third of adults own a gun.
The Kansas City attack wasn't the only shooting that made national headlines Wednesday. Four students were also shot and killed outside a high school in Atlanta, and three police officers were shot and killed during a standoff in Washington.
All are expected to survive, according to media reports.
Police respond to an active shooter after a shooting near the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl III championship parade on February 14, 2024 in Kansas City, Missouri. Multiple people were injured in a shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl championship rally on Wednesday, local police said.
The shooting occurred six years to the day after the attack that killed 17 people at a high school in Parkland, Florida.
“As Americans, it's very depressing to experience a mass shooting at a Super Bowl celebration on the anniversary of another mass shooting,” said the group, which was formed after the Parkland shooting. March for Our Lives, a student-led advocacy group for gun control, posted: A suburb of Miami.
Polls show a majority of Americans support stricter gun laws, and a powerful gun lobby and a mobilized electorate supporting a strong gun rights culture repeatedly block lawmakers from taking action. ing.
Police patrol after a shooting near the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl III championship parade in Kansas City, Missouri. One person was killed and nine others were injured in a shooting at a packed parade celebrating the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl victory Wednesday, the city's fire department said.
The Chiefs were celebrating their third Super Bowl victory in five seasons by defeating the San Francisco 49ers in Las Vegas on Sunday.
The team's most famous fan, music superstar Taylor Swift, whose relationship with girlfriend Kelsey has become a cultural phenomenon, did not attend the celebration.
She was said to be on her way to Australia to perform in Melbourne on Friday.
