The Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl victory parade witnessed a horrific tragedy as the rally encountered a shooting tragedy that left dozens of people injured and one dead on Wednesday, triggering panic among huge crowds of fans celebrating their team’s success.
Kansas City police chief Stacey Graves confirmed the fatality and said between 10 and 15 people had been injured after the shooting at Union Station, just yards from where Chiefs players had addressed cheering supporters.
Police said “two armed people” had been taken into custody, while fire officials told AFP that three of the injured were in critical condition, five serious and one with non-life-threatening injuries.
After shots rang out, shocked fans scrambled to flee to safety as police worked to clear Union Station in an ugly end to what had been a joyous victory parade.
Victims were treated lying on the ground before being carried away on stretchers as crowds streamed past. The Children’s Mercy hospital in the city said it had admitted patients from the shooting, but gave no further details.
“I’m angry at what happened today,” Graves said. “The people who came to this celebration should expect a safe environment,” the police chief added.
Kansas City mayor Quinton Lucas was among the VIPs at the event who were sent running for cover after shots rang out.
“I think the initial response absolutely is anger,” Lucas told a news conference at the scene of the shooting.
“This is a day that a lot of people look forward to. Something they remember for a lifetime. And what they shouldn’t have to remember is the threat of gun violence.
“I don’t want us to have to — in our country, for every big event — think about a concern of being shot.”
“Praying for Kansas City,” City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes wrote on social media.
Just moments before the shooting, Mahomes and his teammates had been soaking up the adulation from a sea of red-shirted fans.
There had been no hint of trouble as hundreds of thousands of partying supporters saluted Chiefs players along a two-mile (three-kilometer) route in a procession of double-decker buses, enveloped by a blizzard of red and gold confetti.
At one stage, Mahomes, clutching a can of beer and the Vince Lombardi Trophy, and several Chiefs players dismounted the buses, high-fived, and took selfies with fans, many of whom lined up before dawn to snaffle prime viewing positions.
Local officials said more than one million people were expected for the parade, which was held in unseasonably sunny, warm conditions in downtown Kansas City.
Gun violence is not uncommon at large-scale sporting victory celebrations in North America.
Last year, 10 people were wounded after a shooting that erupted in Denver amid fans celebrating the Denver Nuggets’ NBA championship victory.
In 2019, four people were injured after gunfire broke out near a parade to honor the Toronto Raptors’ NBA Finals victory in Toronto.
Mass shootings are also common in the United States, where there are more guns than people and about a third of adults own a firearm.
The Chiefs were celebrating their third Super Bowl title in five seasons after beating the San Francisco 49ers in overtime in Las Vegas on Sunday to cement the team’s dynasty status.
But the team’s most famous fan — music superstar Taylor Swift, who is dating Chiefs icon Travis Kelce — was not part of the celebrations.
The singer, whose relationship with Kelce became a cultural phenomenon, rushed back to the United States on Saturday from the latest leg of her money-spinning world tour to attend Sunday’s Super Bowl.
As Kelce and the Chiefs celebrated on Wednesday, Swift was reportedly en route to Australia where she is due to perform in Melbourne on Friday.
Before the shooting, the charismatic Kelce appeared on stage with his teammates at the victory rally looking wobbly on his feet.
