Wednesday night in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, a flurry of gunshots broke out next to an outdoor celebration of the NFL champion Chiefs’ Super Bowl triumph. The incident left at least one person dead and twenty-one others wounded as large crowds of people fled for their lives.
The infamous Kansas City Massacre occurred on Wednesday at Union Station when an outside gunfight resulted in the deaths of four law enforcement officers and a criminal suspect.
The violence that occurred on Wednesday coincided with the sixth anniversary of one of the most well-known mass shootings in recent American history, which occurred at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, and left 17 people dead and 17 wounded. The 19-year-old ex-student who opened fire in that event entered a guilty plea and received a life sentence.
According to officials, at least 22 individuals were shot, one of them fatally. The deceased individual was recognized by the local radio station KKFI as Lisa Lopez, who worked as a disc jockey and hosted the program “Taste of Tejano.”
Kansas City Shooting Leaves 22 Injured, 1 Dead
At a late afternoon press conference, Fire Department Chief Ross Grundyson stated that fifteen victims had injuries that may have been fatal.
Even with several hundred law enforcement personnel on patrol for the Chiefs’ victory parade and celebration, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said it was challenging to guarantee comprehensive protection for any public event due to the widespread use of weapons and gun violence in the country.
“We became part of a statistic of too many Americans, those who have experienced or been part of or connected to a mass shooting,” he stated.
The exact causes of the violence were still unknown hours later, and investigators were still figuring out how many people were killed and what age range the deceased belonged to.
According to rumors, some fans may have assisted in the hunt for and arrest of at least one of the perpetrators, and detectives were examining footage from the event, according to Graves.
Massive Presence Of Police
Approximately eight hundred law enforcement personnel, including agents from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the FBI, participated in the demonstration and march that preceded it.
The National Football League club released a statement confirming that all of the Chiefs players, coaches, and staff that attended the victory rally were safe and accounted for.
According to police, the gunfire burst outside of a garage near the station, capping off a triumph gathering that had preceded a parade. Social media footage captured the chaos outside the station, with several uniformed police officers sprinting into the facility with their firearms drawn and a large number of onlookers fleeing in the other way.
How did officials react to the accident?
In a statement posted on X, Missouri Governor Mike Parson thanked law enforcement for its response and stated that he and his wife had been present when the gunshots started, but that they were now safe and secure.
Laura Kelly, the governor of Kansas, was at the event when the bullets were fired.
As he has done following several other mass shootings, U.S. President Joe Biden advocated for stricter gun control legislation to be passed. Biden stated that he and his spouse “pray for those killed and injured today in Kansas City, and for our country to find the resolve to end this senseless epidemic of gun violence.”
“Praying for Kansas City,” Mahomes posted on X, along by many emojis of praying hands.
While attending the parade, Chiefs linebacker Drue Tranquill posted a prayer request on social media, asking people to “pray that doctors & first responders would have steady hands & that all would experience full healing.”
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