Kansas City police have detained three people in connection with a shooting near the end of the parade to celebrate the Chiefs’ Super Bowl LVIII victory.
Kansas City police confirmed one death. But in all incidents of this nature, information is always chaotic at first. For instance, the Mirror US initially reported that two people were killed and 10 were injured, the only outlet reporting that figure.
The injury count had risen to 22 by 6 p.m. EST. Kansas City is on Central Time, one hour behind Eastern Time.
Shots have been fired around Union Station. Please leave the area.
— kcpolice (@kcpolice) February 14, 2024
“Anyone nearby needs to leave the area as quickly and safely as possible to facilitate treatment of the shooting victims,” police said. “Please avoid the Union Station parking garage area to allow first responders through.”
We have been escorted away from union station after being told to get under the stage we were hosting the parade pic.twitter.com/mlSrahS8Hu
— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) February 14, 2024
The names of the suspects have not been released and the dead will not be identified until their families have been notified. The condition of the injured victims remained unclear, but five were hospitalized at University Health hospital, a facility spokesperson said.
Chaos has broken out at the end of the Chiefs Super Bowl parade. Police and military personnel just took off inside of Union Station pic.twitter.com/mqNeodS9r5
— Jacob Meikel (@NPNOWMeikel) February 14, 2024
It started out as a peaceful celebration, with downtown Kansas City awash in a red sea of more than 1 million celebrants on a day where temperatures were unseasonably warm for the Midwest metropolis, hovering in the 60s.
Many scoured the parade route for a sighting of superstar singer Taylor Swift, but settled for her boyfriend, the wild and raucous Travis Kelce, and the calm-under-pressure quarterback Patrick Mahomes, two of the central figures in what is a budding dynasty.
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas posted on X (formerly Twitter) that there are some things that are worth celebrating over and over again, proclaiming that “It never gets old.”
Some things do get old. Like mass shootings.
Raw video from the incident after the #Chiefs parade and rally.
People tackle a man running away, and then police officers arrive: pic.twitter.com/nEo2YBqREp— 98.1 KMBZ Kansas City (@KMBZradio) February 14, 2024
Players in massive double-decker buses joyously passed around the Lombardi Trophy while wading through the thousands of parade attendees in downtown K.C. Fans posted pictures and videos of the parade on social media on Wednesday after the team became the first to win back-to-back Super Bowl titles in 20 years by beating the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 in overtime on Sunday.
Already, they are talking about becoming the first team to win three consecutive championships since the Super Bowl era began at the end of the 1966 season. Mahomes walked along part of the route, high-fiving fans — including one wearing a Josh Allen Buffalo Bills jersey, perhaps in an attempt to convert him. Though the Chiefs only went 11-6 during the regular season, they beat the Bills in the divisional round before beating the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship game to earn a spot in the Super Bowl.
Patrick Mahomes high fiving a Bills fan at the Chiefs parade 😂😂#BillsMafia see? You can still jump on the wagon! pic.twitter.com/3j1A0XHBwT
— Matt (@KcRunner351) February 14, 2024
The party started early, with fireworks going off in the pre-dawn darkness. Few seemed to mind.
My drive to the parade in #KCMO this morning before sunrise. Love my city ❤️ #Chiefs pic.twitter.com/0wGHm2D5Nm
— Chiefs gonna 3-peat (@Prollyurdaddy) February 14, 2024
Meanwhile, the players reveled in the adulation.
“Best fans in the world,” said wide receiver Mecole Hardman, who caught the winning touchdown pass in overtime, He walked along the route, with many of his teammates signing jerseys. One player signed a fan’s head.
Many fans wondered aloud whether Swift would join her boyfriend Kelce for the parade and victory speeches, but Australian media confirmed that she landed in Melbourne, in advance of her Friday night concert, first of three scheduled shows on her Eras Tour.
“Tay-Tay is not in the house,” a Kansas City TV anchor confirmed.
Swift was there in spirit, though. Some donned Eras Tours T-shirts and Chiefs-themed friendship bracelets. Some sang her songs for local TV reporters and held posters with slogans like “In My Chiefs Era.” Meanwhile, their favorite singer continued racking up the frequent flier miles, having hastily traveled from Japan in the hours before the Super Bowl to arrive in time.
Instead, Kelce was joined by his mom, Donna, whose older son, Jason Kelce, retired as a center for the Philadelphia Eagles after his team was eliminated in the first round.
School districts in the Kansas City area canceled classes, and businesses along the parade path turned the day into a viewing party for their employees. The Kansas City police were out in force, with more than 600 KCPD officers stationed along the 2-mile route, according to police Chief Stacey Graves.
After decades without any kind of championship, the city is turning victory parades into a science — though usually the temperatures are far chillier. In February 2019, the Chiefs defeated the 49ers 31-20 for the team’s first Super Bowl championship in 50 years. Last year, the Chiefs beat the Eagles 38-35 for the title. And in baseball, the Kansas City Royals defeated the New York Mets to win the World Series in 2015, ending a 30-year drought.
