Taylor Swift’s boyfriend Travis Kelce left ‘heartbroken’ after Super Bowl victory parade mass shooting
Superstar Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has posted an emotional message to social media in the wake of Thursday’s tragedy.
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Travis Kelce says he is “heartbroken” after one person was killed and 21 others injured — including nine children — after a mass shooting at the Super Bowl victory parade in Kansas City.
“I am heartbroken over the tragedy that took place today,” the Kansas City Chiefs tight end and boyfriend of pop star Taylor Swift wrote on X on Wednesday night. “My heart is with all who came out to celebrate with us and have been affected. KC, you mean the world to me.”
Three people have been detained over the deadly shooting that left 43-year-old mother of two Lisa Lopez-Galvan dead from a shot to the abdomen.
Authorities on Wednesday stressed the incident had nothing to do with homegrown terrorism or violent extremism.
Instead, the shooting “appeared to be a dispute between several people that ended in gunfire”, Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves told reporters at a Thursday press conference.
Two of the three suspects are juveniles.
“We have not charged them yet,” Ms Graves said.
“This is still under investigation. We do have 24 hours until we have to either file charges or release them … We have subjects that are detained. We are working to determine the involvement of others, and it should be noted we have recovered several firearms … This incident is still a very active investigation.”
Ms Lopez-Galvan, a Kansas City Chiefs superfan and beloved local DJ and radio host, died during surgery at a local hospital for a gunshot wound to her abdomen, loved ones confirmed to the Kansas City Star on Wednesday.
“She was the most wonderful, beautiful person,” Lisa Lopez, a longtime friend of no relation who works as The Star’s newsroom executive administrative assistant, told the newspaper.
“She was a local DJ. She did everybody’s weddings. We all know her. She was so full of life.”
Ms Lopez-Galvan lived with her husband and two children in Shawnee, just one hour southeast of where the tragic shooting occurred.
According to friends and family, Ms Lopez-Galvan’s adult son also suffered a gunshot wound and one of her two cousins, believed to be minors, was injured in the chaos.
She worked as a disc jockey for community radio station KKFI and as the co-host of Tejano Tuesday, which focused on Hispanic music. Beto Lopez, the president and chief executive officer of the Guadalupe Centers, is her brother, The Star reported.
Viral video showed “heroic” Kansas City Chiefs fans tackling one of the alleged shooters.
Shots rang out towards the end of the parade near Union Station on Wednesday, with footage online showing panicked crowds fleeing as police with guns drawn ran towards the disturbance.
“We have three persons detained and under investigation,” Ms Graves said on Wednesday.
“We are working to determine if one of the three is the one that was in that video where fans assisted police.”
She added that “right now we do not have a motive, but we are asking those who may potentially have any kind of information, a witness or video, to contact police”.
At an earlier briefing Ms Graves said she was “angry at what happened today”. “The people who came to this celebration should expect a safe environment,” she said.
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said, “The celebration was marred by a shooting. This is absolutely a tragedy.”
Kansas City Fire Department Chief Ross Grundyson said emergency services treated a total of 22 people for gunshot wounds, one of whom was deceased.
“We had eight we considered immediately life threatening, seven with life-threatening injuries and we had six with minor injuries,” he said on Wednesday.
Authorities had no updates on the conditions of the wounded on Thursday.
Eleven children ranging in age from six to 15 were also wounded during the shooting, but were expected to recover as of Wednesday night, Fox News reported. Nine of them were shot, while two sustained other injuries.
The shooting occurred at around 2pm local time on Wednesday (7am AEDT Thursday).
The parade was attended by thousands of fans and some 800 law enforcement officers were in attendance, according to police.
Parade goer Alyssa Marsh-Contreras captured another video of her father Paul Contreras reportedly helping tackle one of the alleged shooters.
“When we tackled him the gun came out,” Mr Contreas told a police officer in the video.
Parade goer Shawn Grew, 46, told the Kansas City Star he heard a single shot near a security post east of the stage. “It was someone within feet of me,” he said.
Photos and videos showed multiple victims being treated by paramedics.
One man wearing a red hoodie and red tracksuit pants was seen in police custody.
Witness Kade Collins, who attending the parade with his dad, described the ordeal to Fox 4 KC.
“We heard 10 to 12 gunshots, but we thought they were fireworks, so we didn’t really panic at first or get too worked up. But then everyone started screaming and took off running,” Mr Collins said.
“Once the crowd moved out of the way, I could see three people with gunshot wounds on the ground. I saw one girl with a gunshot wound to her leg. A second woman was also shot and had something tied around her leg to make a tourniquet and her leg was covered in blood. There was a guy right by her, and he was in a lot worse shape — he was lying flat on his back. There were multiple people around him helping him. All three of these people seemed pretty young, in their 20s to 30s. We were trying to get out of there as fast as we could.”
Mr Collins said his dad saw police tackle a suspect.
“When we were walking out, there was someone pointing and saying, ‘He’s right there, he’s right there’, and police ran to the guy the crowd was pointing at and tackled him and put him in handcuffs,” he said. “Everyone took off running and screaming.”
The Kansas City Chiefs, led by quarterback Patrick Mahomes, snatched a thrilling 25-22 overtime victory over the San Francisco 49ers to win their third NFL championship in five seasons on Sunday.
Shortly after the shooting, Chiefs linebacker Drue Tranquill wrote on X, “Please join me in prayer for all the victims in this heinous act. Pray that doctors and first responders would have steady hands and that all would experience full healing.”
The Kansas City Chiefs said in a statement that all players, coaches, staff and their families were “safe and accounted for”.
“We are truly saddened by the senseless act of violence that occurred outside of Union Station at the conclusion of today’s parade and rally,” the team said.
“Our hearts go out to the victims, their families, and all of Kansas City … We thank the local law enforcement officers and first responders who were on-scene to assist.”
Kansas City is the largest city in the state of Missouri with a population of around 510,000.
“This was a tragic conclusion to a celebration we had all looked forward to — none more than Teresa and me,” Missouri Governor Mike Parson said in a statement.
“The First Lady and I were present when shots broke out. Thanks to the professionalism of our security officers and first responders, Teresa and I and our staff are safe and secure.”
— with NY Post and Fox News
Originally published as Taylor Swift’s boyfriend Travis Kelce left ‘heartbroken’ after Super Bowl victory parade mass shooting
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