KANSAS CITY (AP) – A historic railway station on the edge of downtown Kansas City became the latest backdrop for a mass shooting as gunfire near the end of the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl celebration sent terrified fans scrambling for cover and left 21 people wounded – including at least eight children – and a mother of two dead.
Wednesday’s shooting outside Union Station happened despite the presence of more than 800 police officers who were in the building and nearby, including on top of nearby structures, said Mayor Quinton Lucas, who attended with his wife and mother and ran for safety when the shots rang out. “Parades, rallies, schools, movies. It seems like almost nothing is safe,” Lucas said.
Three people were detained and firearms were recovered, Police Chief Stacey Graves said at an evening news conference.
She said police were still piecing together what happened and did not release details about those who were detained or a possible motive.
“I’m angry at what happened today. The people who came to this celebration should expect a safe environment,” Graves said. Social media users posted shocking video of police running through Wednesday’s crowded scene as people scrambled for cover and fled. One video showed someone apparently performing chest compressions on a victim as another person, seemingly writhing in pain, lay on the ground nearby. People screamed in the background.
Another video showed two people chase and tackle a person, holding them down until two police officers arrived.
Kansas City has long struggled with gun violence, and in 2020 they were among nine cities targeted by the United States Justice Department in an effort to crack down on violent crime.
In 2023 the city matched a record with 182 homicides, most of which involved guns.
Lucas has joined with mayors across the country in calling for new laws to reduce gun violence, including mandating universal background checks.
Lisa Money from Kansas City was trying to gather some confetti near the end of the parade when she heard somebody yell, “Down, down, everybody down!” At first she thought it might be a joke, until she saw the SWAT team jumping over the fence.
“I can’t believe it really happened,” Money said.
“Who in their right mind would do something like this?”
University Health spokesperson Nancy Lewis said the hospital was treating eight gunshot victims. Two were in critical condition and six were stable. The hospital also was treating four people for other injuries resulting from the chaos after the shooting, Lewis said.
Chief nursing officer for Children’s Mercy Kansas City, Stephanie Meyer said they were treating 12 patients from the rally, including 11 children between the ages of six and 15, many of whom suffered gunshot wounds. All were expected to recover, she said.
