At Least 9 Children Wounded in Mass Shooting at Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl Parade Expected to Make a 'Full Recovery'

Mar. 15, 2025

A firefighter waits outside an ambulance near Union Station.Photo:Emily Curiel/The Kansas City Star/Tribune News Service via Getty

Emily Curiel/The Kansas City Star/Tribune News Service via Getty

At least nine of the children wounded in Wednesday’smass shootingafter the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade are expected to make a full recovery, according to Children’s Mercy Hospital in downtown Kansas City.

Stephanie Meyer, Senior Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer at the hospital, made the announcement at a Wednesday night news briefing.

“Our hearts are heavy after today’s violent events,” the hospital said in a statement Wednesday. “The victims and their families are at the center of our thoughts. We are providing the best possible care and support for those being treated at Children’s Mercy.”

It is not believed that the nine children at the hospital includes all children wounded in Wednesday’s shooting. Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves told reporters at another press briefing on Thursday morning that more than half of the shooting’s 22 victims were under the age of 16 years old.

The 22 injured victims' ages range from 8 to 47 years old, Graves has said.Graves confirmed the identity of the woman killed during the parade. She was previously identified asLisa Lopez-Galvan, a radio DJ forKKFI 90.1 FM, and the station confirmed that she had been killed.

Graves said Thursday that three individuals are in custody and that “a very active investigation” is still ongoing. No charges have been filed in relation to the shooting as of Thursday morning. The police chief noted that the department has until Thursday afternoon to either file charges against the three individuals in custody or to release them.

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Graves said that there’s “no nexus to terrorism or homegrown violent extremism in the shooting, adding, “This appeared to be a dispute between several people that ended in gunfire.”

Law enforcement respond to a shooting at Union Station during the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl LVIII victory parade on February 14, 2024 in Kansas City, Missouri. Several people were shot and two people were detained after a rally celebrating the Chiefs Super Bowl victory.David Eulitt/Getty

David Eulitt/Getty

According to a PEOPLE reporter on the ground at the parade, loud pops rang out around Union Station as soon as the confetti began falling and Chiefs players left the stage following the celebration. Witnesses at the scene said they saw multiple people bleeding, although it was not clear what was the source of their injuries.

“I saw two people bleeding on the ground and we got out of there as fast as we could run,” one woman, who came to the parade with a group of her girlfriends, told PEOPLE.

The Chiefs said all players, coaches, and staff were safe and accounted for following the shooting, whichthe team denouncedas a “senseless act of violence” that soured a celebratory day for the city. Chiefs star tight endTravis Kelcesaidhe was “heartbroken,” while other players like Super Bowl MVPPatrick Mahomesand linebacker Drue Tranquillasked fans to offer supportfor the victims.

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, who said healmost brought his 3-year-old sonto the parade, was near the area where gunfire erupted and said he and others around him ran for safety.

“This is absolutely a tragedy, the likes of which we could’ve never expected in Kansas City,” Lucas said. “The likes of which we will remember for some time.”

Jo Ella Hoye, a Kansas State Representative and gun violence prevention advocate, was at the parade with her 11-year-old son.

“Thankfully, we were just ahead of the shooting,” she told PEOPLE, “and didn’t realize why we were being rushed out so fast.”

She spoke with PEOPLE while she was on a bus with her son, leaving the scene.

As chaos broke out, she heard someone desperately looking for their child, she says. But she doesn’t know what came of it.

“My heart is just broken,” she says.

“My sole purpose is to end gun violence, and sitting here with my son in the wake of this tragedy goes to show how far we need to fight to end this,” she adds.

source: people.com