One dead, nine injured in shooting at Chiefs Super Bowl parade
One person was killed and nine others were injured in a shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl victory rally on Wednesday, triggering panic among huge crowds of fans celebrating their team's success.
The Kansas City Fire Department confirmed the fatality and injury toll after the shooting at Union Station, just yards from where Chiefs players had addressed cheering supporters moments earlier.
Police said "two armed people" had been taken into custody, while fire officials told AFP that three of the injured were in a critical condition, five serious and one with non life-threatening injuries.
After shots rang out, shocked fans scrambled to flee to safety as police worked to clear Union Station in an ugly end to what had been a joyous victory parade.
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.
"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 two-mile (three-kilometer) route in a procession of double-decker buses, enveloped by a blizzard of red and gold confetti.
At one stage, Mahomes, clutching a can of beer and the Vince Lombardi Trophy, and several Chiefs players dismounted the buses, high-fived and took selfies with fans, many of whom lined up before dawn to snaffle prime viewing positions.
- Huge crowds -
Local officials said more than one million people were expected for the parade, which was held in unseasonably sunny, warm conditions in downtown Kansas City.
Gun violence is not uncommon at large-scale sporting victory celebrations in North America.
Last year, 10 people were wounded after a shooting which erupted in Denver amid fans celebrating the Denver Nuggets' NBA championship victory.
In 2019, four people were injured after gunfire broke out near a parade to honor the Toronto Raptors' NBA Finals victory in Toronto.
Mass shootings are also common in the United States, where there are more guns than people and about a third of adults own a firearm.
The Chiefs were celebrating their third Super Bowl title in five seasons after beating the San Francisco 49ers in overtime in Las Vegas on Sunday to cement the team's dynasty status.
But the team's most famous fan -- music superstar Taylor Swift, who is dating Chiefs icon Travis Kelce -- was not part of the celebrations.
The singer, whose relationship with Kelce became a cultural phenomenon, rushed back to the United States on Saturday from the latest leg of her money-spinning world tour to attend Sunday's Super Bowl.
As Kelce and the Chiefs celebrated on Wednesday, Swift was reportedly en route to Australia where she is due to perform in Melbourne on Friday.
Before the shooting, the charismatic Kelce appeared on stage with his team-mates at the victory rally looking wobbly on his feet.
L.Ross--EWJ
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