Dispute led to Super Bowl parade mass shooting?
KANSAS CITY (AP) – The mass shooting that unfolded amid throngs of people at the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl celebration, killing one person and wounding almost two dozen others, appeared to stem from a dispute between several people, authorities said Thursday.
Police chief Stacey Graves said the 22 people injured Wednesday ranged between eight and 47 years old, with half under 16. A mother of two was killed.
Police said they detained three juveniles but released one who they determined wasn’t involved in the shooting, leaving two in custody. No charges have been filed. They are also looking for others who may have been involved and are calling for witnesses, victims and people with cell phone video of the violence to call a dedicated hotline.
“We are working to determine the involvement of others. And it should be noted we have recovered several firearms. This incident is still a very active investigation,” Graves said at a news conference.
The shooting outside Union Station occurred despite the presence of more than 800 police officers who were in the building and area, including on top of nearby structures, said Mayor Quinton Lucas, who attended with his wife and mother and ran for safety when the shots were fired. But he doesn’t expect to cancel the upcoming St. Patrick’s Day parade.
“We have parades all the time. I don’t think they’ll end. Certainly we recognized the public safety challenges and issues that relate to them,” Lucas said.
The police chief said one million people likely attended the parade, which occurred in a city of about 470,000 people and a metropolitan area of about two million, but stressed that the violence was wrought by just a handful of people.