One person has been announced dead and 21 wounded in a shooting in Missouri at the end of the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory parade.
The shooting broke out as the city was celebrating a second straight Super Bowl win by the Kansas City Chiefs. But this lesser-known American city was robbed of its exhilarating and unifying moment.
According to officials, they treated eight victims who were in immediate life-threatening condition and seven others who had suffered injuries that could prove life-threatening.
Nine children were among the wounded, all are expected to recover.
Police said they have arrested three suspects in connection to the shooting.
The shots were fired west of Union Station, the train station in downtown Kansas City, which was where the parade ended at around 14:00 local time (20:00 GMT) and thousands of fans had gathered to watch the festivities.
Local reports said Kansas City Chiefs players were still on a stage there when the first shots rang out.
The gunfire caused the watching crowd, including the city’s mayor and his family members, to run for cover.
Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves said officers responded immediately after the gunshots broke out and detectives who were on the scene quickly opened an investigation.
The Fire Department also sprang to action, administering aid to the injured.
More than 800 police officers were already on the scene to monitor the parade, officials said.
The city’s fire department was also present to provide medical attention if needed.
At a news conference on Wednesday, Chief Graves said a total of 22 people were struck by gunfire, one of whom is dead and three individuals were arrested.
The surviving victims were transported to three local hospitals, officials said, with the immediate life-threatening cases taken to hospital within 10 minutes of the shooting.
Nine children aged six to 15 with gunshot wounds are being treated at Children’s Mercy Hospital, chief nursing officer Stephanie Meyer said.
