The parade to celebrate the Kansas City Chiefs’ coronation in Super Bowl LVIII ended with gunfire Wednesday, leaving at least one dead and 29 injured.
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Shots were fired around Union Station in downtown Kansas City as about a million people gathered nearby.
One person died and 19 others were reportedly hit by projectiles, according to local authorities. Eight of the injured people are said to be in critical condition and seven others in serious condition.
Photo AFP
Ten other people were also reported to have suffered injuries during the events, bringing the death toll to at least 29 injured.
Three suspects were arrested by the authorities while no information is yet known on the motives which would have pushed the shooters to carry out the act.
Photo AFP
A man wearing a red jogging suit is among those arrested, according to AFP journalists.
Getty Images via AFP
A video widely shared on social media suggests that Chiefs supporters may have subdued one of the alleged perpetrators of the shooting.
Police are still trying to determine if one of the three suspects in custody is the individual allegedly intercepted by fans in this video.
“Anyone in the vicinity should leave the area quickly to facilitate the rescue of gunshot victims. Please avoid the Union Station parking lot to allow first responders to pass through,” police also wrote on X.
The incident brought the festivities to an abrupt end, as the vast majority of people present near the stage and the station started running in all directions.
AFP
“I thought it was fireworks,” John O’Connor told The Kansas City Star, explaining that he heard “between 15 and 20 shots in a short period of time.”
Reactions
The Kansas City Chiefs organization responded to the event in a statement, saying they were “saddened by the senseless acts of violence that occurred outside of Union Station following today’s parade.”
“Our hearts are with the victims, their families and the city of Kansas City,” it added. We confirm that all our players, coaches, employees and their families are safe.
The team’s star quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, said “pray for Kansas City” in a post on X.
The mayor and police chief of Kansas City also spoke about the events during two press conferences.
“I am angry about what happened today,” said Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves. The people who came to celebrate today should expect a safe environment.”
“There were over 800 police officers from Kansas City and other agencies who were on site to make sure everyone was safe,” she continued. Due to someone with bad intentions, this reprehensible act was committed.”
“The people who came to celebrate today should expect a safe environment” – Press conference from the police chief and the mayor of Kansas City
For his part, the mayor of Kansas City, Quinton Lucas, deplores that he “always has a risk” of shootings during public events in the United States.
“Parades, rallies, schools, cinemas, nothing seems safe,” laments Mr. Lucas.
He also said authorities have been in contact with the White House, which has offered federal assistance.
Proliferation
The United States is paying a very heavy price for the spread of firearms on its territory and the ease with which Americans have access to them.
The country has more individual weapons than inhabitants: one in three adults owns at least one weapon and almost one in two adults lives in a home where there is a weapon.
The consequence of this proliferation is the very high rate of firearm deaths in the United States, incomparable to that of other developed countries.
Around 49,000 people died from gunfire in 2021, compared to 45,000 in 2020, which was already a record year. This represents more than 130 deaths per day, more than half of which are suicides.
However, it is the mass shootings that stand out the most, while illustrating the ideological divide separating conservatives and progressives on the question of how to prevent such tragedies.
Recent American history is punctuated by killings, with no place in daily life seemingly safe, from the business to the church, from the supermarket to the nightclub, from the public highway to public transport.
Photo AFP
Among all these massacres, some perpetrated in schools particularly shocked public opinion, such as that perpetrated in 2012 by an insane person in an elementary school in Connecticut, during which 20 children aged 6 and 7 were killed.
AFP
The United States Congress has not adopted ambitious legislation, with many elected officials being under the influence of the powerful National Rifle Association (NRA), the leading American arms lobby.
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In fact, in a country where the possibility of owning a firearm is considered by millions of Americans as a fundamental constitutional right, the only recent legislative advances remain marginal, such as the generalization of criminal and psychiatric background checks above all. purchase of weapon.
-With the collaboration of Agence France-Presse
