2 adults charged with murder in shooting at Chiefs’ Super Bowl celebration

Last updated: 2024/02/20 at 8:43 PM

BigP Published February 20, 2024

Missouri prosecutors said Tuesday that two men have been charged with murder in last week’s shooting that killed one person and injured 22 others after the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl parade.

Both adults are charged with second-degree murder and other charges. They have been hospitalized since the shooting, Jackson County prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said during a news conference.

The new charges come after two juveniles were detained last week on gun-related and resisting arrest charges. Authorities said more charges are possible.

Police have said a dispute among several people led to the shooting, which happened even as 800 police officers patrolled the celebration.

The 22 people who were injured range in age from 8 to 47, according to police Chief Stacey Graves. Lisa Lopez-Galvan, a mother of two and the host of “Taste of Tejano,” was killed.

The shooting was the latest at a sports celebration in the U.S. A shooting wounded several people last year in Denver after the Nuggets’ NBA championship.

That led Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas to wonder whether it’s time to rethink championship celebrations, even as he promised last week that the city will continue to celebrate its victories. Next month’s St. Patrick’s Day parade will go on as scheduled. Lucas said.

The Kansas City shooting occurred in a state with few gun regulations and a city that has struggled with gun violence. In 2020, Kansas City was among nine cities chosen by the U.S. Justice Department in an effort to crack down on violent crime. In 2023, the city matched its record with 182 homicides, most of which involved guns.

On Monday, Missouri’s Republican-led House on a bipartisan vote passed a ban on celebratory gunfire in cities following debate that ranged from tearful to angry. A similar measure was passed last year as part of a sweeping crime-related bill, but GOP Gov. Mike Parson vetoed the legislation. He cited issues with other crime provisions in the bill unrelated to celebratory gunfire.

Reporting by The Associated Press.