KANSAS CITY, Missouri – Two teenagers are in custody after a shooting that tore through the city’s Super Bowl celebration in which one person was killed and nearly two dozen others wounded, in what appeared to be the result of an argument.

Police chief Stacey Graves said at least 22 people were wounded in the shooting on Feb 14, in addition to the person who died, and that the victims ranged in age from eight to 47. At least half of the wounded were younger than 16.

Police said they had taken three young people into custody but released one of them after determining that the person was not involved. Police spokeswoman Alayna Gonzalez on Feb 15 said investigators were working with juvenile court prosecutors to “determine applicable charges” against the two teenagers.

The person who died was identified as Ms Elizabeth Galvan, 43, a local DJ who was also known as Ms Lisa Lopez-Galvan. A friend described her as a passionate fan of the city’s football team who was deeply involved in civic events and hosted a radio show.

The police chief said there was no indication that the shooters were motivated by terrorism or extremism, saying instead that the deadly gunfire appeared to have stemmed from some kind of conflict between several people.

“I’m angered about what occurred in our city,” Major Graves said.

The shooting erupted as thousands of football fans had crowded into downtown Kansas City after the Chiefs’ Super Bowl win, suddenly turning a day of revelry into one of chaos and panic. As shots rang out, people ran for cover.

Maj Graves praised the response of her department’s officers and firefighters, and added that civilians themselves had sprung into action. Videos had captured two parade attendees tackling a person as others ran from gunshots.

“It was just a reaction,” said Mr Paul Contreras, who added that he had tackled a man after hearing someone else yell to stop him. “I took him down, and as I took him down, I saw the weapon – the gun – fall to the ground.”

Video footage showed that two men held the person down until police arrived. Maj Graves lauded the efforts.

“Those in attendance also responded,” she said. “They helped one another and even physically stopped a person who was believed to be involved in the incident.”

The shooting took place near the city’s Union Station, a hub that draws tourists to the city each year.

The shock of gun violence pierced an otherwise idyllic winter afternoon, with bright sunshine and temperatures below 20 deg C greeting a city ready to rejoice in what had become close to an annual rite of February as Kansas City’s team has become the dominant force in the National Football League.

Columns of fans, many wearing red, had lined the parade route, celebrating the Kansas City Chiefs’ second consecutive Super Bowl victory and third in five seasons, waving at players, coaches and team officials riding past in open-top red buses.

Among the crowd was Ms Lopez-Galvan, whose radio show, Taste Of Tejano, was broadcast on KKFI, a local radio station. She had two young adult children, a son and a daughter, and the radio station said in a social media post that her son, Marc, had been shot in the leg but was treated at a hospital and released.

The Super Bowl parade officially began at 11am and ended with a rally at Union Station, the century-old rail depot that has been redeveloped into a destination with shops, restaurants and a science centre.

Just before 2pm, Abel King, 12, was tossing footballs with other children in an open area not far from the crowds by the rally’s main stage. He climbed trees to get a better view of his favourite Chiefs players, whose celebratory speeches were being broadcast over big screens.

As the event came to an end, Abel and his parents, Mr and Mrs Jesse and Kourtney King, of Independence, Missouri, got ready to go, but an altercation between at least four people broke out beside them, the parents said in interviews.

They said a woman and a man exchanged harsh words with two other men, at least one of whom may have been a teenager.

Then, they said, they saw guns being drawn. Two of the men started firing at each other, Mr King said, with little regard to where their guns were pointing.

“They were running away from each other,” Mr King added, “but they were still firing weapons behind their backs, just not really aiming.”

Not far away, Ms Vanessa Waterfield, 36, and her friend Shayla Burst, 24, tried to run, but they got pushed backwards by panicking attendees.

“We almost got stampeded on,” Ms Burst said.

The two friends saw a woman fall face first to the ground – and then stop moving. They wondered if she had been shot, and they ran, clambering over barricades until, sobbing and shaking, they took refuge at a nearby hotel.

The two women, both of whom live in Kansas City, said they would be wary of crowded places from now on. And Ms Waterfield, who had taken off her red Chiefs jacket in the hot sun and tied it around her waist before the shooting began, now associates it with something very different from a giddy Super Bowl victory.

“I’m ready to just throw that away,” she said, “every time I look at it.”

Local hospitals said on Feb 15 that they had at least seven people still in treatment, including at least two patients in critical condition. Of the 12 patients taken to one hospital, Children’s Mercy, 11 were children aged six to 15.

NYTIMES