LAST UPDATE | 14 Feb
ONE PERSON HAS been killed and at least 10 people injured in a shooting at the Super Bowl victory parade in Kansas City, USA, the city’s fire department has said.
Of the injured, three were listed in critical condition, five serious and one non-life-threatening, a spokesman for the department told AFP.
Two armed individuals have been arrested, according to Kansas City police.
Police chief Stacey Graves said investigations are ongoing and that the injured were still be accounted for. Between 10 and 15 people have been hurt, she said.
“We know that one of the victims is deceased,” she said. “This is an active situation.”
Mayor Quinton Lucas said he, his family members and Chiefs players had to run for cover. He praised law enforcement officers for the swift response.
“I like many others ran for safety,” he said, describing the incident as a “tragedy”, adding the situation was still “fluid”.
“I’m as heartbroken as anybody,” he told reporters.
Multiple people near the parade route were carried away on stretchers just minutes after Kansas City Chiefs players vowed to go for a third-straight Super Bowl title at the end of their celebrations.
Police have urged people to leave the area in a post on X to allow for the wounded to be treated by first responders.
In an official statement from the Kansas City Chiefs, the team condemned the “senseless” act of violence which took place at its homecoming parade.
“Our hearts go out to the victims, their families, and all of Kansas city,” the statement said.
“We are in close communication with the Mayor’s office as well as Kansas City Police Department. At this time we have confirmed that all of our players, coaches, staff and their families are safe and accounted for.”
The team also thanked the police and first responders who were at the scene.
“Praying for Kansas City,” City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes wrote on social media.
Just moments before the shooting, Mahomes and his team-mates 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 three-kilometre route in a procession of double-decker buses, enveloped by a blizzard of red and gold confetti.
A crowd of hundreds of thousands of red-clad fans had gathered to celebrate a famous victory at Union Station in the city centre.
Videos currently circulating on social media appear to show a large number of fans and other members of the crowd tackling one of the armed individuals during the attack.
Graves said at a press conference shortly after the attack that she had heard reports about fans being involved in stopping one of the armed individuals.
“I’ve heard that fans got involved in the apprehension or pursuit of a suspect. That isn’t something I can confirm right now but I have heard that myself,” she said.
Lisa Money of Kansas City, was trying to gather some confetti near the end of the parade when she heard somebody yell “Down, down, everybody down”.
At first she thought somebody might be joking until she saw the Swat team jumping over the fence.
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.
Ofilio Martinez, 48, said he heard shots fired about 10 or 15 minutes before the gunfire near the Union Station rally.
“This is making me nervous, scared,” he said.
Kevin Sanders, 53, of Lenexa, Kansas, said he heard what sounded like fireworks and then people running back.
After that initial flurry, calm returned, and he did not think much of it. “We were sceptical,” he said. But he said 10 minutes later, ambulances started arriving.
With reporting from Muiris O’Cearbhaill, Press Association and AFP
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