Two teenagers charged in Kansas City Chiefs parade shooting

People flee after shots were fired near the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl LVIII victory parade on February 14, 2024, in Kansas City, Missouri. A shooting incident at a packed parade Wednesday to celebrate the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory killed one person and injured nine others, the city fire department said. (AFP)

WASHINGTON – Two teenagers have been charged in connection with the shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade which left one person dead and 22 wounded, officials said Friday.

The pair, who were not identified because of their ages, are facing gun-related charges and accused of resisting arrest, the juvenile division of the 16th Circuit Court of Jackson County said in a statement.

“Additional charges are expected in the future,” it added.

The two teenagers were arrested following the shooting, which took place on Wednesday at the victory parade which had attracted up to a million fans to downtown Kansas City.

A third person who was taken into custody was later released.

Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves told reporters the shooting “appeared to be a dispute between several people that ended in gunfire” and there was “no nexus to terrorism or homegrown violent extremism.”

The Chiefs were celebrating their third Super Bowl title in five seasons after beating the San Francisco 49ers in Las Vegas on Sunday.

Mass shootings are common in the United States, where there are more guns than people and about a third of adults own a firearm.

US President Joe Biden deplored the shooting and issued a rallying call for Americans to back his pleas for Congress to enact gun reform.

“Today’s events should move us, shock us, shame us into acting,” Biden said.