TOPLINE At least one person was killed and several others were injured in a shooting in downtown Kansas City Wednesday afternoon at the city’s Union Station, the train station that serves as the finish line of the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory parade, according to local officials.
KEY FACTS
The Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department reported shots were fired from a garage just west of Union Station just after 2 p.m. local time, urging people to “leave the area.”
At least one person was killed in the shooting, which left as many as 15 people injured, Kansas City Police Chief Stacy Graves said in a press conference Wednesday afternoon.
Officials told ABC three people are in critical condition, while five remain in serious condition and one other suffered non-life-threatening injuries—CNN reported at least 14 people were injured in the shooting, citing Kansas City Fire Department Battalion Chief Michael Hopkins.
Four people are receiving treatment for gunshot wounds at University Health Truman Medical Center, while eight more are receiving treatment for other injuries from the incident, hospital spokesperson Keith King told Forbes, while another victim in critical condition is being treated for a gunshot wound at Saint Luke’s Hospital, the New York Times reported.
WHAT WE DON’T KNOW
Officials have not released details on the suspects or a motive behind the attack. Videos posted online of the tail-end of the parade show a sea of fans scurrying away from the station along a closed-down street, with police entering the front of the station. Graves said police at the scene—who were potentially assisted by fans attending the parade—tracked down one of the suspects on foot, before officers were able to apprehend both suspects and take them into custody.
TANGENT
Following a year of record mass shooting deaths, those shootings so far this year have fallen to a three-year low, according to data from the Gun Violence Archive, which tracks attacks in which at least four people were killed or injured, not including the assailant. As of Wednesday, there have been 47 mass shootings, the fewest since 2020, resulting in 77 deaths and 152 injuries. That falls short of the 68 mass shootings recorded in the same time period last year, and the 49 recorded during that time in 2022, though it still tops pre-pandemic numbers. Shootings in Kansas City, however, reached record levels in 2023, with 182 murders reported by the police, topping the 170 recorded in 2022 or the previous record of 179 in 2020.
CRUCIAL QUOTE
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who won his second consecutive Super Bowl MVP in the Chiefs’ win against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday and attended the parade, tweeted: “Praying for Kansas City…”