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鈥� sent terrified fans scrambling for cover and left 21 people wounded 鈥� including at least eight children 鈥� and a mother of two dead.
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.
鈥淧arades, rallies, schools, movies. It seems like almost nothing is safe,鈥� 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 and did not release details about those who were detained or a possible motive.
鈥淚鈥檓 angry at what happened today. The people who came to this celebration should expect a safe environment,鈥� Graves said.
It is the latest sports celebration in the U.S. , following a shooting that wounded several people after the Nuggets鈥� NBA championship, and gunfire last year at a parking lot near the Texas Rangers鈥� World Series championship parade.
Social media users posted shocking video of police running through Wednesday鈥檚 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. In an interview Thursday with ABC鈥檚 鈥淕ood Morning America,鈥� Trey Filter of Wichita, Kansas, said he saw someone being chased and took action.
鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 see much. I heard, 鈥楪et 鈥榚m!鈥� I saw a flash next to me. And I remember I jumped and remember thinking, 鈥業 hope this is the fool they were talking about,鈥欌�� he said. 鈥淭hey started yelling that, 鈥楾here鈥檚 a gun, there鈥檚 a gun!鈥欌��
Filter said he and another man kept the person pinned down until officers arrived. 鈥淚 remember the officers pulling my feet off of him and at that point I was just looking for my wife and kids.鈥� It was not immediately clear if the person he held down was involved in the shooting, but Filter鈥檚 wife, Casey, saw a gun nearby and picked it up,
鈥淭here honestly was not much to think about except just my husband and my kids,鈥� Casey Filter said. 鈥淎nd then a gun I saw obviously, there. I was just wanting everyone to be safe. That was my main concern.鈥�
The woman killed in the shooting was identified by radio station KKFI as Lisa Lopez-Galvan, host of 鈥淭aste of Tejano.鈥�
鈥淭his senseless act has taken a beautiful person from her family and this KC Community,鈥� KKFI said in a statement on its Facebook page.
Lopez-Galvan, whose DJ name was 鈥淟isa G,鈥� was an extrovert and devoted mother from a prominent Latino family in the area, said Rosa Izurieta and Martha Ramirez, two childhood friends who worked with her at a staffing company. Izurieta said Lopez-Galvan attended the parade with her husband and her adult son, a die-hard Kansas City sports fan who also was shot.
鈥淪he鈥檚 the type of person who would jump in front of a bullet for anybody 鈥� that would be Lisa,鈥� Izurieta said.
Kansas City has long struggled with gun violence, and in 2020 it was targeted by the U.S. 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.
鈥淲e had 800 officers out yesterday,鈥� Lucas, a Democrat, said in an interview on Thursday. 鈥淲e had snipers on roofs, we had cameras everywhere. We did everything to make this event as safe as possible. But as long as we have fools who will commit these types of acts, as long as we have their access to firearms with this level of capacity, then we may see incidents like this one.鈥�
The parade and rally was the third in five years following Chiefs鈥� Super Bowl wins. Lucas said it may be time to reconsider how to handle the next one if they win again, perhaps holding a 鈥渧astly smaller event鈥� at Arrowhead Stadium, with fans going through metal detectors.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a shame that this is what we鈥檝e come to today in America and in our city. But I think this is something that we need to evaluate,鈥� Lucas said.
Lisa Money of Kansas City was trying to gather some confetti near the end of the parade when she heard somebody yell, 鈥淒own, down, everybody down!鈥� At first she thought it might be a joke, until she saw the SWAT team jumping over the fence.
鈥淚 can鈥檛 believe it really happened,鈥� Money said. 鈥淲ho in their right mind would do something like this?鈥�
Kevin Sanders of Lenexa, Kansas, said he heard what sounded like firecrackers and then people started running. After that initial flurry, calm returned, and he didn鈥檛 think much of it. But 10 minutes later, ambulances started showing up.
鈥淚t sucks that someone had to ruin the celebration, but we are in a big city,鈥� Sanders said.
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.
Stephanie Meyer, chief nursing officer for Children鈥檚 Mercy Kansas City, said it was treating 12 patients from the rally, including 11 children between the ages of 6 and 15, many of whom suffered gunshot wounds. All were expected to recover, she said.
When asked about the condition of the children, Meyer responded: 鈥淔ear. The one word I would use to describe what we saw and how they came to us was fear.鈥�
St. Luke鈥檚 Hospital of Kansas City received one gunshot patient in critical condition, a spokesperson said.
Chiefs trainer Rick Burkholder said he was with coach Andy Reid and other coaches and staff members at the time of the shooting, and that the to Arrowhead Stadium.
鈥淲e are truly saddened by the senseless act of violence that occurred outside of Union Station at the conclusion of today鈥檚 parade and rally,鈥� the team said in a statement.
Missouri鈥檚 Republican Gov. Mike Parson and first lady Teresa Parson were at the parade during the gunfire but were unhurt. In a statement, he thanked security officers and first responders for their professionalism.
President Joe Biden, who was briefed on the shooting and received updates throughout the day, said the tragedy 鈥渃uts deep in the American soul鈥� and called for Congress to take action to prevent gun violence.
鈥淎nd I ask the country to stand with me,鈥� Biden said in a statement. 鈥淭o make your voice heard in Congress so we finally act to ban assault weapons, to limit high-capacity magazines, strengthen background checks, keep guns out of the hands of those who have no business owning them or handling them.鈥�
Throngs had lined the parade route before the shooting, with fans climbing trees and street poles or standing on rooftops for a better view. Players rolled through the crowd on double-decker buses, as DJs and drummers heralded their arrival.
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