UPDATED BELOW. My husband and I are longtime fans of the Kansas City Chiefs, thrilled that our team (again!) won the Super Bowl (back-to-back victories!) and brought the Lombardi trophy back to the city. As is traditional, KC hosted a victory parade, culminating in a rally in front of historic Union Station, a mecca of sorts for KC Chiefs fans during the playoffs.
Inside the Great Hall in Union Station, 2023. Personal photo.
But rather than deal with the congestion of 800K+ people along the parade route and at Union Station, we chose to watch the festivities from home. As my husband said, “it’s the best seat in the house.” No crowds, and you can watch it all.
Wednesday was perfect parade weather in Kansas City — sunny and an unseasonably warm 60°. Many Chiefs players jumped off their double-decker buses to fist bump with fans and sign autographs. After the parade was a raucous rally that would’ve been the envy of Donald Trump — with speeches from local announcers, Kansas City mayor Quinton Lucas, MO Gov. Mike Parson, and finally from the players themselves, including Chiefs TE Travis Kelce being, well, Travis Kelce. He entertained fans with a (drunken) and off-key rendition of “I’ve Got Friends in Low Places” — because of course. It’s Kelce.
At about 2 pm central time the rally ended and fans began to leave. That’s when shots rang out near the west side of Union Station. My husband and I watched with shock as police ran to sounds of gunfire while the crowds scattered. EMTs arrived, loading victims on stretchers to take them to the hospital. We saw snipers on the rooftop of the nearby Westin Crown Center. What was going on in this city we love and call home?
We don’t have all the information as of the time of this writing, but here’s what we know so far:
The person killed is 43-year-old mother of two, Lisa Lopez-Galvan. Not only was she a fervent Chiefs fan, Lopez-Galvan was a DJ at local radio station KKFI and hosted a Hispanic radio program. She also attended the same high school with my daughter and son-in-law (although they told me they didn’t remember her; she was a little older).
Rest in Peace Lisa Lopez. Lisa Lopez-Galvan was a mother of two and was senselessly murdered today in the #ChiefsParade shooting. God speed and bless her husband and children with peace. #RIPLisaLopez pic.twitter.com/ItBQU192St
— Mark (@MarkMizzouSteel) February 15, 2024
Because we don’t know a motive for the shootings, or the identities of those in custody, social media denizens provided their own theories. Some are, to be kind, rather “unique.” Because who cares about facts — they have a political axe to grind.
Like this guy at Twitter/X who blames feminists, and hates Valentines Day, too:
Feminism is too [sic] blame for these mass shootings! Female Nazis have driven men crazy. Females listen up step off your pedestal or be thrown off your pedestal! Fuck Valentines Day!
Nothing is wrong with me. I speak the truth. #ChiefsParade shooting and other shootings I believe are the result of emasculated men being pushed aside by women who want to commit #sexcide ! #Gendercide
And then there’s this conspiracy-minded Twitter/X user who was “just asking questions:”
Looking for a single firsthand account of this shooting. Point me to a video of the shooter or an interview with someone who saw the shooting. How is there nothing?
Over at the website Red State, commenters had their own theories:
Cue up the leftists claiming this is the work of a mega-MAGA monster who hates Taylor Swift.
Probably Taylor Swift fans?
It was terrorism people.
My guess? Sexually Confused Militant Degenerates. They’ve been on a serious roll lately…
And my guess? I have my strong suspicions, based mainly upon what I watched as well as what I know about KC. But while I’m keeping it to myself for now, let’s just say it’s not quite as, well, memorable, as the opinions expressed above.
The Midwest may be scorned by media on the coasts as “flyover country,” but I wonder how many Angelenos or New Yorkers would tackle a shooter? While he still had his gun, no less?
It happened in Kansas City, though. Paul Contreras from Omaha, with the help of another man, tackled one of the perps while the alleged shooter still had his weapon.
An Omaha hero tackled one of the suspected shooters at today's tragic mass shooting in Kansas City.
"I didn't think about it. It's just a reaction. I didn't hesitate – just do it," said Paul Contreras. #omaha | #chiefsparade pic.twitter.com/DU7RvBEPkD
— Bill Schammert (@BillSchammert) February 15, 2024
Meanwhile, bystanders worked to revive a shooting victim. Was this Lisa Lopez-Galvan? We don’t know.
Other heroes were of the more subdued type, like prayer warriors Leandre and Spencer. They saw one of the shooters, but rather than returning home to decompress, they stood outside Truman Medical Center and prayed for the shooting victims. Leandre and Spencer told reporter Matt Flener that they heard the voice of God directing them to pray.
These are Midwesterners. They may not have the social caché of the coastal media, but when things like this happen, you can count on them to step up to the challenge.
Wednesday’s Chiefs Super Bowl parade and rally wasn’t the first event of its kind in Kansas City. In 2015, the city held a parade and rally after the KC Royals won the World Series. Then the Chiefs emerged as an NFL powerhouse, bringing the first Super Bowl win to the city in 50 years. 2020 was the first of three Super Bowl parades and rallies, which included 2023 and 2024.
However, during none of those festivities did fans “celebrate” by tipping cars, setting fires, or committing major acts of vandalism. Oh, they’re not perfect — if I recall correctly, last year police arrested someone who intentionally drove into a barricaded area. Yes, alcohol was probably involved. Kansas Citians do like to party.
However, KC had pride in not being one of “those” cities that break things to let loose. But now Kansas City has had a mass shooting at a Chiefs Super Bowl event. Yes, we’ll learn more in the days to come, and hopefully the suspects will be convicted and prosecuted to the fullest extent possible. But if the Chiefs win the Super Bowl yet again — which we all hope — will celebrations ever be the same?
UPDATE: Just as I suspected all along, the shooting stemmed from a dispute. We still don’t have the names of the suspects, however, as two of them are juveniles.
Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves said Thursday that the shooting that left 22 people with gunshot wounds and a woman dead started as a dispute between several people at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl Victory Parade and Rally…
Graves said three people were taken into custody after the incident that left the city reeling following what was supposed to be a day of celebration. Two of those suspects are juveniles.
Featured image: personal photo; Union Station, 2023.
Bucky says: Either rival gangbangers or someone dissed another person by giving them a hard look.
Cameron says: The simplest and most logical possibility.
GWB says: Given that Miss Lopez is Hispanic and in broadcast media, I wonder if she doesn’t associate with people that local gangs have a grudge against? It could be local do-good groups who work against gangs or law enforcement or… who knows. If she was standing with them and one of those gangs decided to hit the group, she could have been hit.
It’s a guess. Like armpits, everyone has a couple. But it’s based on one bad thing about our sports obsession in this country: gangs have very much become associated with it. It’s a tribal association thing – gangs are already very tribal, and sports are worshipped in this country, so it’s not a big leap to gangs adopting team colors and such. Or, maybe it was just a big gathering that was an opportune place to pop your rival.
It strikes me that “gang criminality” or other criminality is most likely the motivator for this crime. And that few of those injured were the object of the shooter(s) wrath.
I also wonder about those kids. Two of the eleven did not have gunshot wounds. Were they dropped by parents who were shot? Or were they trampled by the panicked crowd? Why it matters – something you should learn for self-defense is how to keep your head in a situation like this, and how to move out of the path of a stampede. It could save your life some day.
Good post, Kim. Thank you.
draigh says: Thank you for the article. I, too, thought it was some sort of dispute and the legacy media has a blackout on information. They did not immediately place blame on “MAGA racists,” so the intelligent among us felt there were other reasons for the gunplay. Thanks again. You gave us more information than anyone in the legacy media.
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