One dead, nine injured in shooting at Chiefs Super Bowl parade
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI – FEBRUARY 14: People take cover during a shooting at Union Station during the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl LVIII victory parade on February 14, 2024 in Kansas City, Missouri. Several people were shot and two people were detained after a rally celebrating the Chiefs Super Bowl victory. Jamie Squire/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by JAMIE SQUIRE / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)
UPDATED Kansas City, United States — One person was killed and up to 15 people were injured in a shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory rally on Wednesday, triggering panic among huge crowds of fans celebrating their team’s success.
The Kansas City Fire Department confirmed the fatality and injury toll after the shooting at Union Station, just yards from where Chiefs players had addressed cheering supporters moments earlier.
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Police said “two armed people” had been taken into custody, while fire officials told AFP that three of the injured were in a critical condition, five serious and one with non life-threatening injuries.
After shots rang out, shocked fans scrambled to flee to safety as police worked to clear Union Station in an ugly end to what had been a joyous victory parade.
Victims were treated lying on the ground before being carried away on stretchers as crowds streamed past. The Children’s Mercy hospital in the city said it had admitted patients from the shooting. but gave no further details.
“I’m angry at what happened today,” Graves said. “The people who came to this celebration should expect a safe environment,” the police chief added.
Kansas City mayor Quinton Lucas was among VIPs at the event who were sent running for cover after shots rang out.
“I think the initial response absolutely is anger,” Lucas told a news conference at the scene of the shooting.
“This is a day that a lot of people look forward to. Something they remember for a lifetime. And what they shouldn’t have to remember is the threat of gun violence.
“I don’t want us to have to — in our country, for every big event — think about a concern of being shot.”
“Praying for Kansas City,” City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes wrote on social media.
Just moments before the shooting, Mahomes and his team-mates had been soaking up the adulation from a sea of red-shirted fans.
There had been no hint of trouble as hundreds of thousands of partying supporters saluted Chiefs players along a two-mile (three-kilometer) route in a procession of double-decker buses, enveloped by a blizzard of red and gold confetti.
At one stage, Mahomes, clutching a can of beer and the Vince Lombardi Trophy, and several Chiefs players dismounted the buses, high-fived and took selfies with fans, many of whom lined up before dawn to snaffle prime viewing positions.
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI – FEBRUARY 14: A man is detained by law enforcement following a shooting at Union Station during the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl LVIII victory parade on February 14, 2024 in Kansas City, Missouri. Several people were shot and two people were detained after a rally celebrating the Chiefs Super Bowl victory. David Eulitt/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by David Eulitt / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)
Huge crowds
Local officials said more than one million people were expected for the parade, which was held in unseasonably sunny, warm conditions in downtown Kansas City.
Gun violence is not uncommon at large-scale sporting victory celebrations in North America.
Last year, 10 people were wounded after a shooting which erupted in Denver amid fans celebrating the Denver Nuggets’ NBA championship victory.
In 2019, four people were injured after gunfire broke out near a parade to honor the Toronto Raptors’ NBA Finals victory in Toronto.
Mass shootings are also common in the United States, where there are more guns than people and about a third of adults own a firearm.
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The Chiefs were celebrating their third Super Bowl title in five seasons after beating the San Francisco 49ers in overtime in Las Vegas on Sunday to cement the team’s dynasty status.
But the team’s most famous fan — music superstar Taylor Swift, who is dating Chiefs icon Travis Kelce — was not part of the celebrations.
The singer, whose relationship with Kelce became a cultural phenomenon, rushed back to the United States on Saturday from the latest leg of her money-spinning world tour to attend Sunday’s Super Bowl.
As Kelce and the Chiefs celebrated on Wednesday, Swift was reportedly en route to Australia where she is due to perform in Melbourne on Friday.
Before the shooting, the charismatic Kelce appeared on stage with his team-mates at the victory rally looking wobbly on his feet.
