Kansas City shooting was not an act of terrorism or homegrown violence, say police

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People flee after gunshots were fired near the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory parade on Feb. 14 in Kansas City, Missouri. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

Wednesday’s shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl celebration does not appear to have been an act of terrorism or homegrown domestic violence, according to the city’s police chief.

“This appeared to be a dispute between several people that ended in gun violence,” Kansas City, Mo., Police Chief Stacey Graves said Thursday at a briefing for the media.

Three suspects have been detained following the shooting, which left one person dead and at least 22 others injured. Graves said that two of the suspects were juveniles. No suspect has yet been charged.

The shooting happened outside Union Station in Kansas City at the conclusion of a celebration for the Chiefs’ Super Bowl win Sunday over the San Francisco 49ers.

Graves said that the 23 victims ranged in age from 8 to 47 and that at least half were under age 16. This number includes the one fatality: 43-year-old Elizabeth Galvan — who has also been identified as Lisa Lopez-Galvan — a DJ at local radio station KKFI and a mother of two.

“It is with sincere sadness and an extremely heavy and broken heart that we let our community know that KKFI DJ Lisa Lopez-Galvan, host of Taste of Tejano lost her life today in the shooting at the KC Chiefs’ rally. Our hearts and prayers are with her family,” the station said in a Facebook post on Wednesday night.

“This senseless act has taken a beautiful person from her family and this KC Community,” the statement added.

One suspect was captured after a foot chase with officers, according to Graves.

“I’m angry at what happened today,” Graves told reporters on Wednesday. “The people who came to this celebration should expect a safe environment.”

“This is not Kansas City,” she added at the end of the news conference.

At least one firearm has been recovered, she said.

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People take cover during the shooting at Union Station shortly following the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory parade on Feb. 14 in Kansas City, Missouri. Jamie Squire/Getty Images

Jamie Squire/Getty Images

“The Super Bowl is the most unifying event in America,” President Biden said in a statement on Wednesday. “For this joy to be turned to tragedy today in Kansas City cuts deep in the American soul. Today’s events should move us, shock us, shame us into acting.”

It’s unclear yet how many fans attended the celebration, but NPR member station KCUR said that during last year’s victory parade, close to 1 million people flooded downtown for the rally.

In preparation for the expected crowd size Wednesday, 800 law enforcement officers were on scene for the parade, Graves said. The heavy police presence helped in guiding fans to safety once the shooting began and also in administering lifesaving aid to gunshot victims, she said.

The shooting, west of Union Station, started right after the parade rally with Chiefs players including Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce had ended, Graves said. Videos of the scene shared on social media show crowds of people running away from Union Station as officers rush in.

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A law enforcement officer looks around the scene after the shooting following the Kansas City Chiefs’ victory parade on Wednesday. Charlie Riedel/AP

KCUR reported that Children’s Mercy Hospital received 12 patients from the rally, 11 of them children and nine of them with gunshot wounds. Fire Chief Ross Grundyson couldn’t immediately confirm the ages of the victims, but doctors and administrators at Children’s Mercy confirmed at a news conference that they treated the children and their ages ranged from 6 to 15.

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said during Wednesday’s news conference that he had debated bringing his own child to the celebration. He was at the parade along with his wife and mother, he said.

“I, like many others, ran for safety,” when the shooting began, Lucas said.

In a message directed at the city’s residents, the mayor said he is angry and “heartbroken.”

“This is a day that a lot of people look forward to, something they remember for a lifetime. What they shouldn’t have to remember is the threat of gun violence marring a day like this, injuring them and their families,” he said.

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