Super Bowl celebration ends with tragedy in Kansas City
Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024 was set to be a joyous celebration in Kansas City following the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl LVIII victory. Amidst the celebration, however, two minors set off gunshots at the team’s parade just outside Kansas City’s Union Station.
Thousands of Kansas City football fans had gathered to celebrate the fifty-eighth Super Bowl winners at a parade in the city. The shooting resulted in twenty-three injuries and one death. Nineteen of those hurt were treated for their gunshot-related injuries at local hospitals. The New York Times even reported that twelve of those victims were admitted to Children’s Mercy Hospital and were all under sixteen years old. The one fatality from the event was 43-year-old mother Elizabeth “Lisa” Lopez-Galvan. Investigators continue to work on preceding together events and motives behind the act.
According to The New York Times, the mass shooting began with an argument between several teenagers and escalated when two people repeatedly fired their weapons into the crowd. Jesse King, a witness of the shooting, had brought his family to the parade to celebrate their favorite team's victory. While explaining the event to a New York Times reporter, King said, “They were still firing weapons behind their backs, just not really aiming.” Another witness who saw one of the shooters told CBS that “he pulled it out and just started shooting and spinning in a circle.”
On Friday, Feb. 16, two teenagers were charged in connection with the mass shooting but have remained anonymous as they are currently minors whose names are closed to the public. After resisting arrest, both teenagers are currently being held at a juvenile detention center. A third suspect was briefly detained as well, but later released without having been charged. The New York Times reported that it is a possibility the two shooters will be tried as adults in Missouri, with that decision to be made soon by a juvenile judge.
Thumbnail Photo courtesy of Lamron Photo Editor FP Zatlukal