A “senseless” shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl parade leaves a mother of two dead and 22 others injured, turning a major sports extravaganza into a bloody disaster. Just inside the latest street beef.
The gunfight at the chief’s celebration was sparked by one group “staring” at another, one of the suspects told police.
Similar clashes between gun-wielding thugs have caused panic and left dozens injured at three other major sports festivals in recent months. That includes after the Texas Rangers’ World Series victory in November and the Denver Nuggets’ NBA championship celebration in June.
Former Boston Police Chief Ed Davis, who was on duty during the 2013 Marathon bombings, said that although many security plans were put in place to keep the event safe, hundreds of thousands of people said there is no way to control how the person acts on that day. Not to mention the sports festival.
“When two groups of idiots run into each other, you can’t control them. And unfortunately, now everyone has guns,” Davis said.
As many as 1 million fans attended last week’s Chiefs Super Bowl parade, where a fight between two groups left one person dead and 22 others, including 12 children, injured.
One of the gunmen charged with murder, Lindell Mays, 23, told police he was initially “hesitating” to use his gun because of the large crowd and the presence of children, according to court documents. However, he is said to have confessed that he still fired the gun.
When the police asked him what led to the shooting, he replied: I just pulled out my gun and started shooting. I shouldn’t have done that. It’s just stupid,” the document states.
Police said Lisa Lopez Galván, 43, was watching the parade when Dominick Miller, 18, shot and killed Mays, who was standing behind her.
Police said the fight between Mays, Miller and their associates in the crowd began for less than 17 seconds.
Such was the case on Nov. 3, when the Texas Rangers celebrated their first World Series victory. According to local estimates, as many as 700,000 people gathered in Arlington to cheer on the champions.
According to police, the festival appeared to be going on without a hitch until violent clashes suddenly broke out between two groups over parking spaces in a nearby parking lot.
During the scuffle, Tommy Pontalancy, 37, pulled out a gun and began firing into the air, police said.
He was charged with four counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon.
No one was shot at the Rangers’ parade, but 10 people were shot at the Denver Nuggets’ first NBA championship celebration on June 13, which was attended by an estimated 750,000 fans.
Police said a total of 20 shots were fired between Ricardo Vasquez and Raul Jones during an argument with Kenneth Blakely over a drug deal during the parade.
Officials said Blakley likely pointed the gun at Vasquez first, who then quickly pulled out his own gun and fired at Blakley before the suspects fled. The crowd allegedly attacked “multiple parties.”
Nuggets head coach Michael Malone called for stricter gun laws in the wake of the Kansas shooting, saying fans have a right to celebrate their team without fearing for their lives.
“Unfortunately, I heard one of the coaches got to the point where he didn’t want to go to the cinema, he didn’t want to go celebrate a win, he didn’t want to go out. It’s a nightclub, because this happens so many times. That’s why,” Malone said at a press conference last week.
Bill Evans, also a former Boston police chief who provided security for 12 championship parades, warned that the size of such parades is a perfect recipe for disaster.
“Nothing good happens when you have that many people in the same place,” Evans said. “They should think twice about holding these parades.”
These shootings don’t just happen at victory parties. Last May, 21 people were injured in three shootings in downtown Milwaukee, just blocks from where the Bucks lost to the Boston Celtics in the NBA’s Eastern Conference semifinals.
Despite the Super Bowl parade shooting, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas has not ruled out canceling future parades. But Lucas said Americans may now need to rethink how cities celebrate championships.
“If we were lucky enough to win the Super Bowl again, would we do it again? Or would we all say, ‘Let’s go to Arrowhead Stadium?’ Walk through the metal detector. Hold a much smaller event that is very safe,” he told local KMBC.
“Many of us, especially those who are thinking of taking our children somewhere, may ask themselves, at least for a while, ‘Is this something I want to risk?'” he added.
“It’s unfortunate that America and our cities are where they are today.”
with post wire
