The happy faces of children carried on their parents’ shoulders turned to faces of horror as the crowd celebrating the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory realized they were hearing gunfire, not fireworks. One of the fans of the American football team who took part in the victory parade told local media that the chaotic scene looked like something out of a movie. But in the United States, these episodes are so recurring that it’s more like turning on the news every Wednesday.
The fatal shooting left one person dead and 20 others injured, half of them children. Kansas City Police Chief STacey Gravessaid that the investigation into the motive is ongoing and the department has not yet filed charges against the two people (minors) detained for their involvement in the incident. “We still have 24 hours to file charges or release them.”, he added. So far, ten people have been questioned, the authorities said.
What happened sparked a reaction in the White House. In a statement in the last few hours, the president said Joe Biden rejected the facts and called on American citizens to call on their lawmakers in Congress to ban assault weapons in addition to using more restrictive measures in criminal record checks. The demand is not new, but the president hopes that what happened in the middle of a sports celebration will touch a nerve in this direction.
For his part, the mayor of Kansas said the remaining celebrations planned for the Chiefs’ win have been canceled.