Things to know about the shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl celebration

Jacob Gooch talks about being shot in the leg during Wednesday's Super Bowl victory rally for the Kansas City Chiefs while recovering in Leavenworth, Kan., Thursday. Gooch, along with his wife and his son, were among the more than 20 people injured in the incident. (AP)
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Updated 16 February 2024
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Things to know about the shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl celebration

  • Mayor Quinton Lucas, who attended with his wife and mother and ran for safety when shots were fired, said the shooting happened despite the presence of more than 800 police officers in the building and nearby
  • The 22 people injured in the shooting ranged in age from 8 to 47, and half of them were under the age of 16, Police Chief Stacey Graves said at a news conference Thursday. A mother of two was killed

KANSAS CITY, Missouri: The shooting after the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl celebration that killed one woman and injured more than 20 people appears to have stemmed from a dispute, police said Thursday.

Shots rang out at the end of the celebration outside the city’s historic Union Station. Fans had lined the parade route and some even climbed trees and street poles or stood on rooftops to watch as players passed by on double-decker buses. The team said all players, coaches, staffers and their families were safe and accounted for after the shooting.

Mayor Quinton Lucas, who attended with his wife and mother and ran for safety when shots were fired, said the shooting happened despite the presence of more than 800 police officers in the building and nearby.

Here’s what we know:

THE VICTIMS

The 22 people injured in the shooting ranged in age from 8 to 47, and half of them were under the age of 16, Police Chief Stacey Graves said at a news conference Thursday. A mother of two was killed.

Radio station KKFI said via Facebook that Lisa Lopez-Galvan, the host of “Taste of Tejano,” was killed. Lopez-Galvan, whose DJ name was “Lisa G,” was an extrovert and devoted mother, 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 loyal Kansas City sports fan who also was shot.

Lopez-Galvan played at weddings, quinceañeras and at an American Legion bar and grill, mixing Tejano, Mexican and Spanish music with R&B and hip hop. Izurieta and Ramirez said Lopez-Galvan’s family is active in the Latino community, and her father founded the city’s first mariachi group, Mariachi Mexico, in the 1980s.

Eleven children were taken to a children’s hospital, nine of them with gunshot wounds, an official said. Three children were still being treated Thursday and all were expected to recover.

Eight gunshot victims were taken to another hospital Wednesday. Officials there said two were in critical condition Thursday and five had been discharged. Three of four people injured in the chaos after the shooting had been discharged.

One gunshot victim was in critical condition at a third hospital Thursday, an official said. Four people injured after the shooting were treated there and released.

THE WITNESSES

The police chief said the parade likely attracted 1 million people in the city with a population of about 470,000 people and a metropolitan area of about 2 million.

Two members of the crowd could be seen in a video tackling a person.

Trey Filter of Wichita, Kansas, said he was walking to his car with his wife and two children when he saw “a mess starting to unfold.” He and another man tackled a person and kept him pinned down until officers arrived. It wasn’t immediately clear if the person was involved in the shooting, but Filter’s wife, Casey, saw a gun nearby and picked it up.

Hank Hunter, a sophomore at a Kansas high school, and a friend ran when people started hitting the ground. After his friend got hurt jumping a barricade, a guard ushered him into Union Station, where Chiefs Coach Andy Reid consoled the teen.

Chiefs offensive lineman Trey Smith shared his WWE title belt to help calm a young boy. Smith, who sported the belt during the celebration, noticed the frightened boy, who was with his father. He told Good Morning America that he and long snapper James Winchester were among those sheltering in a closet and that Winchester “was very instrumental in keeping people calm.”

Gene Hamilton, 61, of Wichita, Kansas, said he was sitting in the area when he heard what sounded like a lot of fireworks and everyone was running. Hamilton said he found it unnerving that the upbeat rally music continued amid the confusion.

Manuel Vigil, 43, said he heard shots that sounded like fireworks as he posed for pictures with a group near where a band had played. It was so shocking that no one ran at first, he said.

THE INVESTIGATION

Graves said three people, including two juveniles, were initially detained and that several firearms were recovered. Later, a department spokesperson said one person was released and only two teenagers remained in custody.

Police did not release details about those who were detained or the weapons seized. Graves said police are working to determine whether other people were involved.

Investigators urged witnesses, people with cellphone footage and victims of the violence to call a dedicated hotline.

In a message posted on social media, Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said she will use every tool at her disposal to get answers. “We will get through this together,” she said. “We will heal together. And we will fight together.”

CITY’S HISTORY

Kansas City has struggled with gun violence, and in 2020 it was among nine cities chosen by the US Justice Department in an effort to crack down on violent crime. In 2023, the city matched its record with 182 homicides, most of which involved guns.

Mayor Lucas has joined with mayors across the country in calling for new laws to reduce gun violence, including mandating universal background checks.

VIOLENCE AT SPORTS CELEBRATIONS

Wednesday’s shooting is the latest at a sports celebration in the US. A shooting wounded several people last year in Denver after the Nuggets’ NBA championship.


Salah sets up goal on return to Liverpool action

Updated 6 sec ago
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Salah sets up goal on return to Liverpool action

  • Salah came off the substitutes’ bench to huge cheers in the 26th minute
  • Liverpool doubled their lead in the 60th minute when Ekitike scored his second, nodding home Salah’s corner

LIVERPOOL: Mohamed Salah set up a goal in Liverpool’s 2-0 win against Brighton on Saturday as he returned to action after an explosive outburst cast doubt over his future at the Premier League champions.
The Egypt forward, the subject of intense scrutiny in the build-up to the game at Anfield, came off the substitutes’ bench to huge cheers in the 26th minute, replacing injured defender Joe Gomez.
The home team, whose title defense has collapsed after a shocking run of results, were leading 1-0 at the time, with France forward Hugo Ekitike on the scoresheet after just 46 seconds.
Brighton squandered a number of opportunities to level and Ekitike scored again with half an hour to go to give Liverpool breathing space.
Salah accused Liverpool of throwing him “under the bus” after he was left on the bench for last week’s 3-3 draw at Leeds — the third match in a row that he had been named among the replacements.
He also said that he had no relationship with manager Arne Slot.
Salah was omitted from the midweek Champions League trip to Inter Milan, which Liverpool won 1-0, posting a picture on social media of himself alone in the gym.
Slot said at Friday’s pre-match press conference that he would speak to the forward later in the day, adding: “I have no reasons (in) not wanting him to stay.”
There was feverish speculation in the build-up to Saturday’s match about what role Salah would play, with the winger named on the bench.
Liverpool, who had won just two of 10 Premier League matches before the Brighton game, made a lightning start, taking the lead in the first minute when Joe Gomez set up Ekitike, who thumped the ball past Bart Verbruggen.
Salah entered the fray about 20 minutes before half-time when Gomez was withdrawn.
Brighton’s Diego Gomez squandered a good chance to level early in the second half, striking the ball against the outside of a post, and Brajan Gruda also went close as the home crowd chanted Salah’s name.
Liverpool doubled their lead in the 60th minute when Ekitike scored his second, nodding home Salah’s corner.
Salah himself went close in stoppage time after he was set up by Federico Chiesa but he blazed over.
The win lifts Slot’s men to sixth in the table ahead of the later kick-offs on Saturday, easing the pressure on the beleaguered manager.

- Salah departure -

Salah, who signed a new two-year contract at Liverpool in April, is about to depart for the Africa Cup of Nations.
The length of his absence depends on how far Egypt go in the competition in Morocco, with the final taking place on January 18.
The forward, who has been linked with a move to the lucrative Saudi Pro League, had invited his family to the Brighton game as speculation swirled over his future.
“I will be in Anfield to say goodbye to the fans and go to the Africa Cup,” he told reporters last week. “I don’t know what is going to happen when I am there.”
Salah, third in Liverpool’s all-time scoring charts with 250 goals, has won two Premier League titles and one Champions League crown during his spell on Merseyside.
He scored 29 Premier League goals last season as Liverpool romped to a 20th English league title, but has managed just four league goals this season.