One dead, 21 injured in shooting at Kansas City Super Bowl victory parade as police arrest three

One person has been killed and at least 21 others have been injured in a mass shooting during a sport victory parade in Kansas City in the United States, with police detaining three people in connection with the incident.

Nine children aged six to 15 were among those injured in the shooting at the end of Wednesday's parade to celebrate the city’s American football team Kansas City Chiefs' third Super Bowl victory, according to local police authorities.

Police said three people had been taken into custody after the attack near Union Station, but the motive behind the shooting is not known yet.

“I’m angry at what happened today. The people who came to this celebration should expect a safe environment,” Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves said, adding that everything is under investigation.

Moreover, fire department chief Ross Grundyson told a news conference that many of the victims had suffered “life-threatening injuries.”

The victim killed was named DJ Lisa Lopez-Galvan, a mother of two, who was identified by her radio station, as her two nieces and nephew were also injured.

The authorities said more than one million people were expected for the parade, and the gunfire caused the terrified watching crowd to run for cover.

US President Joe Biden in a statement reflected on the issue of gun violence in the country, calling for tougher gun control measures.

“Today's events should move us, shock us, shame us into action,” Biden said, as he called for gun reform and a ban on assault rifles in the US.

In other mass shootings happened on Wednesday in the US, four students were shot outside a high school in Atlanta, while three police officers were shot during a standoff in the national capital Washington, DC.

The Kansas shooting is the latest sports celebration in the US to end in gun violence. Last year, shooting at the Nuggets' NBA championship in downtown Denver and a gunfire at a parking lot near the Texas Rangers' World Series championship parade injured several people.

More than 42,000 killed in US gun violence in 2023

Gun violence in the United States takes the lives of more than 42,000 people in 2023.

Kansas City has long struggled with gun violence, and in 2020 it was among nine cities targeted by the US Justice Department in an effort to crack down on violent crimes. In 2023, the city matched a record with 182 homicides, most of which involved guns.

Gun owners in Kansas State do not need to obtain a license to purchase rifles, shotguns, or handguns, do not have to register their firearms or be licensed to own them, and do not need a permit to carry them, according to the National Rifle Association.

Over the years, the US has topped the list of “civilian guns per capita," as there are more guns in the US than people, amounting to 120 guns for every 100 Americans.

The US saw 656 mass shootings in 2023, according to the Gun Violence Archive website, as experts warn about the rise in shootings across the country over the last decade.

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