Three suspects held after deadly gun attack near Super Bowl victory parade in Kansas City

Three people have been arrested after a deadly shooting near a parade in Kansas City, Missouri.

One person was killed and 22 wounded in the attack on Wednesday, which took place as NFL fans marked the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory.

Police chief Stacey Graves said the arrested suspects are “under investigation”, but police have yet to identify a motive for the shooting.

Ms Graves said police were not sure whether the parade was the attackers’ intended target, or the timing was a coincidence.

Thousands of fans had gathered for the event to celebrate the NFL team’s win over the San Francisco 49ers. But the celebrations soon turned to chaos as shots were fired outside Union Station.

Radio station KKFI identified the person who was killed as one of its employees.

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

KKFI said in a post on Facebook.

Of the 22 people wounded, 11 were children, with 15 suffering life-threatening injuries.

“For this joy to be turned to tragedy today in Kansas City cuts deep in the American soul,” President Joe Biden said on Wednesday.

He called on Americans to “make your voice heard in Congress” and demand steps be taken to “keep guns out of the hands of those who have no business owning them or handling them”.

More than 800 police officers were assigned to the parade, and Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas expressed sorrow that their presence had failed to prevent the shooting.

“Parades, rallies, schools, movies – it seems like almost nothing is safe,” he said.

Wednesday’s shooting coincided with the sixth anniversary of the Parkland, Florida, shooting, in which 17 people were killed and 17 wounded when a lone gunman opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.