Two of the three suspects currently detained by Kansas City cops over the horror Super Bowl parade mass shooting are juveniles, officials revealed Thursday.
Speaking at a press conference outside the city’s police headquarters, Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves said investigators believe the shooting was triggered by a personal dispute between a small group, and the parade was not the target.
The mass shooting on Wednesday saw at least 21 people shot and one killed, and the press conference confirmed the death of a beloved Kansas City radio DJ.
‘This was a dispute that ended in gunfire,’ said the chief, who said a total of 10 people were questioned in the aftermath, and further arrests are possible.
Officials said the over two dozen victims ranged from aged eight to 47, at least half of whom were under the age of 16.
Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves (pictured) said at a Thursday morning press conference the shooting is believed to have been triggered by a personal dispute between a small group, including juveniles
Images circulating on social media show a group of people being taken into custody following the shooting, some of whom appear to be juveniles. It is not clear if those pictured are suspects
A man in a red tracksuit was quickly taken into custody after the shooting, although it is unclear if he was involved in the tragedy
Terrified parade-goers fled for their lives after gunmen opened fire shortly after the Superbowl winners stepped off stage
Graves said that the incident appears to be fueled by Kansas City’s rampant gun violence issues, and does not have ‘any nexus (connection) to terrorism’ at this time.
The city’s fire chief spoke briefly at the press conference, and said that at least eight victims remain in critical condition.
Images circulating on social media show at least five people being taken into custody following the shooting.
Several of them appear to be juveniles, and were pictured being handcuffed and hauled away by cops. It is unclear which, if any, of those photographed are among the three suspects. One of the suspects was wearing a yellow Patrick Mahomes as he was cuffed by police.
The Kansas City Police Department told DailyMail.com it would not be releasing the names of those pictured in the images as they have not been charged.
Police have 24 hours to bring charges against those arrested, with the suspects appearing to be quickly taken into custody after the shooting began around 3:30pm Wednesday.
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas did not offer a statement, but remarked during questions from reporters that he would consider blocking a future parade next year.
In a separate press interview at 6am Thursday, Lucas elaborated that he could axe the parade if the Chiefs were to win again out of an abundance of caution.
Lucas offered scant new details on the tragedy early Thursday morning, and apologized for ‘failing to keep everybody safe’ at the family event.
‘I’m sorry that this happened yesterday,’ he said.
‘We worked hard to put on an exceptional parade, we spent millions on it, but we failed to keep everybody safe and that’s something I have great guilt over.’
Witness of the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade shooting described a chilling scene of victims being shot to the ground and people getting trampled in the mayhem
Beloved Kansas City radio DJ Lisa Lopez-Galvan, pictured here with her husband, was the one person to lose her life on the day of the shooting, and passed away during surgery at a hospital for a gunshot wound to her abdomen
It comes after several witnesses have given harrowing accounts of the moment the family event descended into mayhem.
Witnesses described a chilling scene of victims being shot to the ground and people getting trampled in the mayhem.
Upwards of a million people were expected to have gathered in Kansas City for the celebration, exacerbating the frantic scenes as the huge crowds formed a stampede to run for safety.
Rick Reichmeier told KCTV he was separated from his family when the shooting began, before witnessing the grisly moment after a woman was shot.
‘When I got up there was a lady probably about 25 feet away from me and she had blood coming out of her mouth as they were pumping her chest,’ he said.
‘I was walking away and I heard some shots, some pops pop pop pop, people started running and I ran. Then all of a sudden people start hitting the ground, I hit the ground, people are falling on top of me.’
Witness Rick Reichmeier said he was separated from his family when the shooting began, before seeing a woman with ‘blood coming out of her mouth as they were pumping her chest’
Shooting victim Jacob Gooch Jr (pictured) said his wife and daughter, who were also shot, heard a woman pleading with a gunman not to start firing, seconds before the shooter span in circles to hit as many people as possible
Another witness who sustained a gunshot wound to his ankle, Jacob Gooch Jr, claimed a woman pleaded with a gunman ‘don’t do it’ seconds before he spun in circles to pepper as many people with bullets as possible.
Gooch Jr, who was shot in the chaos alongside his wife and son, told CBS Mornings that he heard a young woman tell the shooter, ‘not here, this is stupid.’
‘My wife and daughter saw the gun come out and start shooting,’ he said. ‘My daughter said some lady was holding him back… then he pulled (the gun) out and started shooting and spinning in a circle.’
Gooch said he didn’t personally see the gunman, but was a short distance away as he recalled initially thinking the gunshots were fireworks.
He said he was shot in the ankle, his wife was shot through the calf muscle, and his son sustained a bullet wound to his foot, but his family were thankfully okay besides the wounds and had returned home from the hospital.
