Kansas City Chiefs shooting suspect gives wild defence for attack: ‘Just being stupid’
The man who police said instigated the shooting called his decision to draw his gun ‘stupid’
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A suspect accused of carrying out the mass shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade has admitted that he opened fire told investigators that he was “just being stupid” when he opened fire in the crowd with a stolen gun.
On 14 February, gunfire erupted at the Super Bowl victory parade, leaving 22 people injured and 43-year-old Lisa Lopez-Galvan, a local radio DJ and mother of two, dead.
The other victims ranged in age from eight to 47 years old with around half of those injured under the age of 16.
Now, the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office has charged two adult men Lyndell Mays and Dominic Miller with second-degree murder, unlawful use of a weapon and two counts of armed criminal action.
They are both being held on $1m bond.
According to court documents, the shooting began when Mr Mays got into a verbal fight with a group of people at the parade.
Officials believe Mr Mays had no previous history with these people, prosecutor Jean Peters-Baker said at a press conference on Tuesday.
Mr Mays pulled his firearm first, Ms Peters-Bakers said, while others followed quickly. He was shot and injured in the incident.
Police interviewed Mr Mays while he was in the hospital recovering from gunshot wounds.
Court documents reveal that Mr Mays admitted to police that he “drew a gun first, in a crowd of people with kids, picked one of the individuals in the group at random, and started shooting”.
He told police he did so because one person said: “I’m going to get you.”
Mr Mays told police he thought that this meant: “I’m going to kill you.”
“Stupid, man,” Mr Mays told police. “Just pulled a gun out and started shooting. I shouldn’t have done that. Just being stupid.”
According to court documents, officials recovered a gun covered in blood from next to Mr Mays after he was shot. That gun was stolen, officials said in court documents.
These charges against Mr Mays and Mr Miller come after Jackson County juvenile prosecutors charged two minors in connection to the shooting last week.
Those two juveniles, who have not been named, face gun-related and resisting arrest charges, the Jackson County Family Court Division said in a statement. Officials have also charged another person with unlawful possession of a firearm but said they were not involved in the shooting, local outlet KCTV5 reports.
Officials believe it was Mr Miller who fired the shot that killed Lopez-Galvan, Ms Peters-Baker told reporters.
Mr Miller told police he had fired his weapon four to five times after someone pointed their handgun at him during the fight.
Then, during Lopez-Galvan’s autopsy, officials recovered a bullet that a ballistic comparison revealed came from Mr Miller’s gun.
Lopez-Galvan’s family praised police efforts to locate the suspects.
“The effort and dedicated hours spent to expeditiously investigate this senseless act of violence is extremely commendable,” her relatives said in a statement that Ms Peters-Baker read on their behalf.
“It is reassuring for our family and the entire community to know that this joint team effort has resulted in the identification of the suspects involved.”