Two juveniles charged over Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade mass shooting
The suspects’ names have not been released due to their ages
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Two juveniles have now been charged in connection to the mass shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl victory parade that left one person dead and another 22 victims suffering from gunshot wounds.
Juvenile prosecutors with the Jackson County, Missouri Family Court Division, announced that the two unnamed juveniles were hit with charges of gun-related crimes and resisting arrest.
“The juveniles are currently detained in secure detention at the Juvenile Detention Center on gun related and resisting arrest charges,” the Division said in a statement.
Additional charges are expected to be filed as the investigation continues, officials said.
“Pursuant to Missouri law, hearings are not open to the public as this alleged offense involves juveniles,” the statement continued. “This is the extent of the information that the Office of the Juvenile Officer can release at this time.”
The identities of the suspects have not been released due to their ages.
On the day of the shooting, 23 people were shot including Kansas City radio DJ Lisa Lopez-Galvan, 43, who died from her injuries.
Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Grave said that the victims' ranged from ages 8 to 47, and that at least half of the wounded were under the age of 16.
All of the wounded victims are expected to recover.
The suspects were taken into custody by Kansas City police shortly after the shooting began. Chiefs fans later spoke out about tackling a potential suspect while he tried to flee the scene.
It is not clear if the individual detained by members of the crowd is among the two suspects now charged in the shooting.
A third person was also detained, but was released without charge on Thursday.
Police believe the shooting stemmed from a disagreement between some individuals, rather than the incident being terror-related.
The King family of Independence, Missouri, said they were standing near a group of people when the disagreement turned violent. The family noted that four people near them had been arguing; a woman and a man were slinging insults, and there were two other men present, they told The New York Times.
The Kings said suddenly some of the group pulled out firearms and began shooting at each other.
“They were running away from each other,” Mr King said. “But they were still firing weapons behind their backs, just not really aiming.”
The shooting unfolded despite 800 police officers being on the scene monitoring the parade and crowd, according to the city’s Mayor Quinton Lucas.
Despite the public safety challenges with such big events, he said he does not foresee the city ending parades.
“We have parades all the time. I don’t think they’ll end. Certainly we recognised the public safety challenges and issues that relate to them,” said Mr Lucas, who attended the event with his family.
Several Kansas City Chiefs’ players have spoken out of their heartbreak that the shooting erupted at what should have been a celebratory event.
Patrick Mahomes, the team’s star quarterback, posted on X/Twitter that he was “praying for” the city, while Travis Kelce, the team’s tight end, said he was “heartbroken”.
“KC, you mean the world to me,” he wrote.