MISSOURI - Two teenagers have been charged as juveniles in connection with the shooting that killed one person and wounded 22 others in Kansas City, Missouri, near a Super Bowl victory rally for the city’s National Football League champion, the Kansas City Chiefs, the authorities said on Feb 16.
The two suspects, arrested shortly after the shooting on Feb 14, were being held at a juvenile detention centre on charges of firearms violations and resisting arrest, according to a statement from Jackson County’s Family Court.
Police have said both suspects are teens, but they have not been otherwise publicly identified because they are minors.
The charges were filed on Feb 15, according to the announcement, which noted that further family court proceedings would be closed to the public under Missouri law.
“It is anticipated that additional charges are expected in the future as the investigation by the Kansas City Police Department continues,” the statement read.
Jackson County prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said in a written statement on Feb 16 that her office was working closely with the family court authorities overseeing the case, though she noted her office had no authority over family court officers.
A spokesperson for Baker’s office has said county prosecutors would start a process to charge the two minors as adults once they were charged as juveniles. That procedure could take days or weeks, the spokesperson said.
Police said the shooting erupted during a quarrel among a group of people as the Chiefs’ rally wound down. Several firearms were recovered from the shooting scene.
The rally and parade preceding it in celebration of the Chiefs’ Super Bowl triumph over the San Francisco 49ers on Feb 11 drew over a million fans, Kansas City Police chief Stacey Graves said on Feb 15.
The sound of gunshots as the event was breaking up sent throngs scrambling for cover. Two fans attending the rally ended up tackling and detaining one of the suspects.
Police said the 23 gunshot victims’ ages ranged in age from eight to 47. Ms Lisa Lopez-Galvan, 43, a popular local radio personality, was the lone fatality.
Pop superstar Taylor Swift, whose boyfriend – Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce – was attending the rally, donated US$100,000 (S$135,000) early on Feb 16 to a GoFundMe page set up by the family of Ms Lopez-Galvan. Swift was at the Super Bowl game, but was back on tour in Australia when the shooting occurred.
Children’s Mercy Hospital said it treated the nine children who were shot, and all were expected to recover. Two other children with non-gunshot injuries and an adult victim were also treated there, the hospital said.
Major Graves, who said on Feb 15 that investigators had ruled out any apparent connection to extremism or “home-grown terrorism”, also said police were still seeking to determine if anyone else was involved in the shooting.
“We will not relent until everyone who may have played a part in these crimes is apprehended so that they may be punished to the fullest extent of the law,” she said in a statement on Feb 16 following the announcement that the two juvenile detainees had been charged.
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas on Feb 16 thanked prosecutors and police for their efforts, adding: “I know more investigation and potentially further charges are ahead as we pursue justice for all impacted.” REUTERS
