Two juveniles charged in mass shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade
This photo provided by KKFI 90.1FM shows Lisa Lopez-Galvan. Known as Lisa G on KKFI-FM, host of “Taste of Tejano” Lopez-Galvan was fatally shot on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024 while celebrating the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl victory in Kansas City, Mo. (KKFI 90.1FM via AP)
By NICK INGRAM, SCOTT MCFETRIDGE and JIM SALTER Associated Press
Two juveniles were charged with crimes connected to the mass shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl rally, authorities said Friday, as the city tries to recover in the aftermath of the violence.
A news release from the Jackson County Family Court said the juveniles are being detained in the county’s Juvenile Detention Center on gun-related and resisting arrest charges. Additional charges are expected as the investigation continues.
No further information was released. Defendants age 17 and under in Missouri are typically adjudicated through the juvenile system, which is far more private than the system for adults. Names of the accused are not released, nor are police documents such as probable cause statements.
In cases involving serious crimes such as murder, juveniles as young as 12 can be certified for trial as adults, said Lynn Urban, a professor who chairs the Criminal Justice and Criminology Department at the University of Central Missouri.
Federal law prohibits the death penalty for anyone under age 18 at the time of the crime.
Police initially detained three juveniles but released one who they determined wasn’t involved in the shooting. Police are looking for others who may have been involved and are calling for witnesses, victims and people with cellphone video of the violence to call a dedicated hotline.
A mother who was a radio station announcer died in the burst of gunfire Wednesday as the parade and rally were concluding, and 22 others — more than half of them children — were injured. By Friday, two people remained in critical condition and one was in serious condition. Most of the injured children were out of the hospital and expected to recover.
Police believe a dispute between several people led to the shooting.
The Jackson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office set up in-person counseling for the traumatized. Twelve people attended Thursday, including two children, spokesman Michael Mansur said Friday. The agency also established a hotline offering counseling, but Mansur didn’t immediately have information on how many called the hotline.
The Chiefs won their third Super Bowl in five years Sunday, beating the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 in overtime. The two previous celebrations went off without any trouble.
The shooting occurred despite the presence of more than 800 police officers in the area, including on top of nearby structures, said Mayor Quinton Lucas, who attended with his wife and mother and ran for safety when the shots were fired. But he doesn’t expect to cancel the upcoming St. Patrick’s Day parade.
“We have parades all the time. I don’t think they’ll end. Certainly we recognized the public safety challenges and issues that relate to them,” Lucas said.
Taylor Swift, who is dating Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, donated $100,000 to the slain woman’s family.
Kansas City has long struggled with gun violence, and in 2020 it was among nine cities 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.
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