Police chase unfolds along Super Bowl parade route in Kansas City
2 arrested after car goes through barrier; motive unknown
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Hours before the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl parade was to begin on Grand Boulevard in downtown Kansas City on Wednesday, a car broke through barriers and led police on a chase along most of the length of the parade route.
The chase spread fear among a crowd that had been celebrating. It started when a green sedan broke through a barrier on the north end of the parade route, police said. Officers along the route were immediately alerted.
The pursuit ended near the south end of the two-mile route, where two people — a man and a woman — were arrested. No injuries were reported, police said.
Police were investigating whether the driver was impaired, said Sgt. Jake Becchina, a spokesman for the Kansas City Police Department.
The suspects’ motive was unknown, but police were interviewing the man and woman to find out why they drove onto the route and then refused to stop.
The chase was not thought to be related to any act of terrorism, Becchina said. Police searched the vehicle and found no weapons or explosives.
The chase unfolded shortly after 8 a.m. as crowds along Grand Boulevard were startled by the sound of sirens and the sedan sped south down the parade route, chased by police cruisers. The car quickly vanished from sight, leaving shocked parade watchers to be ordered away from the road by police staffing the barricades.
The chase instantly shattered the mood of the crowd. Seconds before, police had been leading fans in chanting “Go Chiefs!”
“Did that really just happen?” a woman in the crowd asked.
Police tried to stop the car using tire deflation devices.
Although some of the tires were flattened, the car continued down Grand, where it turned onto Pershing Road and headed toward the crowds at Union Station.
“I just thought this can’t be happening,” said Shawn McMullen, a Kansas City native living in Charlotte, North Carolina, who traveled home for the Super Bowl and the victory parade.
As the car sped down Pershing, fans gathered five deep at the barrier started screaming and running into Washington Square Park. Police used a tactical maneuver to stop the car as it neared the crowds.
Belongings went tumbling and were upended as people scrambled for safety. Police officers yelled, “Get back! You’re in the line of fire!”
Officers surrounded the car with weapons drawn as smoke poured from the vehicle.
“It was terrifying,” said Deana Keen, a fan who was near where the car had been stopped. “We started running because everybody (police) drew their guns and we thought maybe there would be some gunfire.”
Once it became clear the threat was over, the crowd erupted in cheers of “KCPD! Way to Go!”