At least one person was killed and up to 15 injured in a shooting at the end of the parade to celebrate the Super Bowl win by the Kansas City Chiefs, the city’s police chief said.
āIām angry at what happened today,ā Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves said at a news conference.
Graves said two people had been taken into custody and has heard that fans may have been involved in apprehending a suspect but couldnāt confirm that.
āThis is absolutely a tragedy, the likes of which we never would have expected in Kansas City, the likes of which weāll remember for some time,ā Quinton Lucas said.
Social media users posted shocking video. One userās video showed someone apparently performing chest compressions on a shooting victim as another person, seemingly writhing in pain, lay on the ground nearby. People screamed in the background.
Another video showed two onlookers chase down and tackle someone, holding that person down until two police officers arrived.
Lisa Money of Kansas City, Kansas, was trying to gather some confetti near the end of the parade when she heard somebody yell, āDown, down, everybody down!ā
At first Money thought somebody might be joking until she saw the SWAT team jumping over the fence.
āI canāt believe it really happened. Who in their right mind would do something like this? This is supposed to be a day of celebration for everybody in the city and the surrounding area. and then youāve got some idiot that wants to come along and do something like this,ā she said.
Kevin Sanders, 53, of Lenexa, Kansas, said he heard what sounded like firecrackers and then people running. After that initial flurry, calm returned, and he didnāt think much of it. But he said 10 minutes later, ambulances started showing up.
āIt sucks that someone had to ruin the celebration, but we are in a big city,ā Sanders said.
Lisa Augustine, spokesperson for Childrenās Mercy Kansas City, said the hospital āis receiving patients from the rally.ā She didnāt know how many or immediately offer any details about their injuries.
St. Lukeās Hospital of Kansas City received one gunshot patient in critical condition and one walk-in patient with injuries that were not life threatening, spokesperson Laurel Gifford said.
The University of Kansas Health System was treating one person wounded in the shooting, said Jill Jensen Chadwick, news director for the health system. She didnāt know the personās condition.
āWhen you have this many casualties, itās going to get spread out among a lot of hospitals so that you donāt overwhelm any single ER,ā she said.
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson and the first lady were at the parade when shots were fired but are safe, Parson posted on X.
āState law enforcement personnel are assisting local authorities in response efforts,ā Parson posted. āAs we wait to learn more, our hearts go out to the victims.ā
Chiefs trainer Rick Burkholder said he was with coach Andy Reid and other coaches and staff members, and the team was on buses and returning to Arrowhead Stadium.
After the Denver Nuggetsā championship parade last year, a shooting took place in downtown Denver that injured two people, though police said they didnāt believe the incident was associated with the actual celebration. Also last year, an argument resulted in shots being fired at a parking lot near the Texas Rangersā World Series championship parade. Nobody was injured.
Areas that had been filled with crowds were empty after the shooting, with police and firefighters standing and talking behind an area restricted by yellow tape.
Throngs had lined the route, with fans climbing trees and street poles, or standing on rooftops for a better view. Players rolled through the crowd on double-decker buses, DJs and drummers heralding their arrival. Owner Clark Hunt was on one of those buses, holding the Lombardi Trophy.
The city and the team each chipped in around $1 million for the event commemorating Travis Kelce, Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs becoming the first team since Tom Brady and the New England Patriots two decades ago to defend their title.
After decades without a championship, the city is gaining experience with victory parades. Five seasons ago, the Chiefs defeated the 49ers for the teamās first Super Bowl championship in 50 years. That followed the Kansas City Royals winning the World Series in 2015, the cityās first baseball championship in 30 years. That year, fans abandoned their cars on the side of the highway so they could walk to the celebration.
Then, last year, the Chiefs defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35 and prophetically vowed they would be back for more.