Police say Kansas City shooting may have stemmed from personal dispute; 2 minors have been detained

KANSAS CITY, Missouri (CNN) — Two minors were arrested in connection with a shooting Wednesday after a Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl celebration event that left one dead and more than 20 injured, police reported.

At least 23 victims have been identified, including the 43-year-old woman who died, Police Chief Stacey Graves said at a news conference Thursday. The other 22 victims ranged in age from 8 to 47, Graves said, with half under the age of 16.

The shooting appears to be a “dispute between several people that ended in gunshots,” Graves said, adding there was no indication of a “connection to terrorism or domestic violent extremism.”

On Wednesday, Graves said three people were detained and an unspecified number of weapons were recovered by police. On Thursday, a Kansas City police spokesman told CNN that one of the people in custody “decided not to be involved.” Two juveniles were taken into custody for further investigation, police said.

Several law enforcement officials also told CNN that the shooting was believed to be the result of a personal dispute in the area, and not an attack on the celebration itself.

One of the officials said that those detained were believed to be involved in the dispute and 10 people were initially questioned. The status of the other seven questioned is unclear.

While police have not yet filed charges, Graves told reporters at a Thursday news conference that the investigation is ongoing and that his department is working closely with Jackson County Prosecutor Gene Peters’ office. Baker.

A cleanup is underway at Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri on February 15. Credit: Emmalee Reid/CNN

Baker vowed to “get answers”. Post to X Thursday morning, writing in part: “I will use every tool at my disposal under Missouri law that allows me to address this tragedy.”

Wednesday’s shooting erupted after nearly a million people gathered just steps from Union Station in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, for a parade and rally marking the Chiefs’ repeat championship victory. Law enforcement cordoned off the area, sending fans running for cover, with confetti floating in the wind.

The four hospitals received 30 shooting patients, 19 of them with gunshot wounds, their staff told CNN. Children’s Mercy Hospital received 11 minors, ages 6 to 15, from the scene of the shooting (nine of whom had been shot), according to hospital spokeswoman Lisa Augustine. Three children remained hospitalized on Thursday. He is expected to recover from his injuries, said Stephanie Meyer, chief nursing officer at Children’s Mercy Hospital.

The shooting was the second in a year at a major sporting event in the United States. In June, two people were injured as Denver fans left the NBA Nuggets parade. It was the second place where a sense of security has been pierced by gun violence, as American churches, schools, grocery stores and shopping malls have already been hit by gunfire.

“Parades, rallies, schools, movies. It seems almost nothing is safe,” Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said Wednesday.

Wednesday’s was at least the 48th mass shooting in the United States so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive, which, like CNN, counts people with four or more gunshot wounds, not including the perpetrator.

Murdered woman “was a light in all parties”

Radio host Lisa Lopez-Galvan died after being shot during a demonstration, according to her employer, radio station KKFI 90.1 FM.

“We are absolutely devastated by the loss of such an incredible person who gave so much to KKFI and the Kansas City community,” station spokeswoman Kelly Dougherty said in an email to CNN.

Lopez-Galvan “left an incredible legacy,” said Manny Abarca, a legislator from Jackson County, Missouri, who was in the parade with his daughter. He knew López-Galván, a member of a “large family of civic leaders” actively involved in the city’s Latino community.

“She was the light of every party. She was often the volunteer DJ when they needed someone for a community event,” she told “CNN This Morning.”

Family members of Lopez-Galvan were among those injured during the shooting, according to a Facebook post by the mayor of Lee’s Summit, a suburb about 20 miles southeast of Kansas City.

Lopez-Galvan’s brother is Lee’s Summit Mayor Pro Tempore Beto Lopez, Mayor Bill Baird wrote that Lopez’s two nieces and nephew were injured.

“This is truly heartbreaking and a complete tragedy,” Baird said, asking his community to pray for the family.

Police arrest man contacted by fans

Paul Contreras was at the event with his daughters when people started running.

He saw someone going “in the wrong direction” and heard someone yelling for him to stop, he told CNN’s Erin Burnett on Wednesday. Contreras hit the man from behind and tackled him, knocking the gun to the ground, he said. Two other assistants helped stop him.

“He was fighting the whole time,” Contreras said. “And we were fighting him to keep him down.”

Police handcuffed the man who was pinned to the ground, the video shows, although it was unclear if the man was among those detained by police. “We are working to determine if one of the three is who appeared in the fan video helping the police,” Graves said Wednesday.

Jacob Gooch Sr., who was shot in the ankle, told CBS Thursday that he heard an argument before the shooting, with one of the girls telling someone, “Don’t do that, not here, this is stupid.”

Gooch, who said his wife and son were also shot, told “CBS Mornings” that his wife and daughter then saw someone pull a gun.

“My daughter said a woman was, like, holding him,” Gooch said, “and people started backing up and then he pulled her out and just started shooting and going around in circles.”

The FBI created a tip-collecting website, urging people to submit videos capturing suspects shooting or trying to flee.

How an officer helped save a life

Officials at University Health Kansas City Hospital said at a news conference Thursday that they had received eight shooting victims. Two are in critical condition, while the other is in stable condition. The rest have already been discharged, they said.

Dr. One of the two patients, who was in critical condition, was saved by the actions of local fire officials, Dustin Neal said.

“The medical director (of the Kansas City Fire Department) is also an emergency physician here. She was on the scene and was able to triage patients quickly and efficiently, allowing the most critical patients to come in first,” Neal explained.

“The first person that arrived … who is in critical condition, if he hadn’t gotten here so quickly, he probably wouldn’t be with us now. He had life-threatening injuries,” Neal added.

Thanks to the help of firefighters, the man was taken directly to the operating room. That patient improved overnight and more operations are planned for Thursday, Neal said.

— CNN’s Chris Boyette, Andy Babino, Rebeccah Reiss, Sara Smart, Jameel Lynch, Jillian Sykes, Kyle Feldscher, Mattias Griese, Amanda Jackson, Raja Rezek, Sarah Dewberry, Hannah Rabinowitz, Holmes Lybrand and Sara Smart contributed to this report.