The Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl victory parade Wednesday ended in panic and bloodshed. A beloved mother of two was slain, and dozens of others, including at least nine children, were grievously wounded.
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson (R) suggested "thugs and criminals" were responsible for the brazen shooting. Kansas City's Democrat Mayor Quinton Lucas took offense to the Republican's characterization of the barbarians responsible for the shooting, suggesting Parson was trafficking in coded racist language.
Around 1 million people flocked to downtown Kansas City on Valentine's Day to celebrate the hometown team's Super Bowl Win. As festivities began winding down, gunmen opened fire west of Union Station, where a stage had been set up for speeches by the NFL team's triumphant players.
KCMPD Chief Stacey Graves confirmed that at least 22 people, ages ranging from 8 to 47, were wounded in the shooting. Elizabeth Galvan, a 43-year-old mother of two and popular radio disc jockey, died from her injuries.
Blaze News previously reported that investigators suggested there were no indications the shooting was the product of "terrorism or homegrown violent extremism." Instead, Graves suggested that "this appeared to be a dispute between several people that ended in gunfire."
Jacob Gooch Sr., a survivor of the shooting, told "CBS Mornings" that prior to the shooting, he heard a girl begging one alleged shooter, "Don't do it. Not here. This is stupid."
Gooch said his daughter observed the alleged shooter break free of the woman, then begin "shooting and spinning in a circle."
Footage obtained by TMZ allegedly shows part of the dispute that led to the shooting.
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Within moments of the shooting, two heroic dads tackled an individual they believed to be one of the gunmen. That too was caught on camera.
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The Jackson County Circuit Court confirmed that a pair of teenagers were charged with "gun-related" offenses Friday as well as with resisting arrest, reported the Kansas City Star.
Both suspects, currently being held at the Juvenile Detention Center, will likely be slapped with additional charges as the investigation into the shootings continues. The Star noted that depending on the charges, the teens might also be tried as adults, especially if accused of first-degree assault and murder.
"I am grateful for the charges against the two juveniles who hurt innocent people, simultaneously scarring an entire community," Chief Graves said in a statement Friday. "We will not relent until everyone who may have played a part in these crimes is apprehended so that they may be punished to the fullest extent of the law."
Democratic Mayor Quinton Lucas indicated he too was pleased the duo had been charged, writing, "I thank law enforcement, juvenile court officers, and the Jackson County Prosecutor for bringing a first set of charges of two minors involved in Wednesday's mass shooting. I know more investigation and potentially further charges are ahead as we pursue justice for all impacted."
Gov. Parson, who was reportedly present on the other side of the stage when the shooting occurred, told host Pete Mundo on KCMO Talk Radio Thursday that Kansas City does not "need to be judged by one incident that happened at the end of that yesterday. ... It's a wonderful city, a great city, a lot of good people up there — as you seen perfect examples of that yesterday with the people that responded to this incident."
"We can't let some thugs and criminals just, you know, take over and ruin what happened," continued the governor. "I feel for these parents, these kids."
The Republican suggested that it should be easy to track down those responsible on account of all the active cameras in the area and intimated further that all of those who drew weapons are ultimately culpable for murder.
Thinking on the tragedy and on the children whose lives have been forever impacted, Parson said, "I just hate it, you know, as a grandparent of kids going out there, trying to have a little fun, trying to get a glimpse of a player or whatever they may be there for — a celebration."
"Then you just got some absolutely — be careful what I say before I say something I'm gonna probably regret — just a bunch of criminals, thugs out there, just killing people in an instant like that," continued Parson. "And attempting to kill all those people and created such chaos that people got hurt, been trampled."
Parson stressed that prosecutors should "go after these people full bore."
Mayor Lucas appeared on a local radio show called "Up to Date" Friday and used up some of his airtime to condemn Parson for daring to call those who would open fire into a crowd of innocents "thugs."
Lucas, a leftist who has fought state efforts to increase funding for police, told KCUR host Steve Kraske, "I disagree strongly with how he would describe that situation. I certainly do think this was criminal activity. It was lawlessness, and I think that's troubling. But 'thugs' is a dog whistle in the most classic sense," reported Fox News Digital.
In the most classic sense, "thug" was an Indian term for a cheat or swindler. However, it appears to have been ported over from Marathi to English in the 19th century and used in reference to roving gangs of murderous robbers.
In the way of murderers and robbers, Lucas' city appears to have an overabundance.
According to the Kansas City Star, the city set a record last years for homicides with at least 185 slayings. Over 240 were slain across the metro area. The previous year, there were 171 homicides.
Kansas City has a score of 1 on Neighborhood Scout's crime index, where 100 is safest. The chance of becoming victim of a violent crime is 1 in 67. The likelihood of falling victim to a property crime is 1 in 21.
"I've seen this dog whistle time and time again," continued Lucas. "There's this kind of giant conservative theory on social media now that the reason these mug shots haven't been shown is because the purported defendants are black, and if it were a white defendant we would have just shown them. That is absolutely preposterous. There are protections to juveniles."
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Democratic Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri has accused Republicans of racism for waging war against wokeness, while she also speaks out against legislation that largely blocks gender transitions for minors.
"As Democrats, we've got to push back on the GOP's 'war on woke.' We know it's rooted in anti-Blackness. We cannot sit idly by as these folks get in front of cameras and yell 'woke' at everything. It's our communities that the GOP is targeting. We have to stand up for us," Bush tweeted.
\u201cAs Democrats, we\u2019ve got to push back on the GOP\u2019s \u201cwar on woke.\u201d We know it\u2019s rooted in anti-Blackness. We cannot sit idly by as these folks get in front of cameras and yell \u201cwoke\u201d at everything.\n\nIt\u2019s our communities that the GOP is targeting. We have to stand up for us.\u201d— Cori Bush (@Cori Bush) 1686150550
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson (R) has signed legislation that prohibits providing gender-transition measures — including surgeries, cross-sex hormones, and puberty blockers — to people younger than 18. Under the measure, the cross-sex hormone and puberty-blocker bans do not apply to youth who are prescribed or administered those substances before August 28.
"We support everyone's right to his or her own pursuit of happiness; however, we must protect children from making life-altering decisions that they could come to regret in adulthood once they have physically and emotionally matured," Parson said, according to a press release. "These decisions have permanent consequences for life and should not be made by impressionable children who may be in crisis or influenced by the political persuasions of others."
Parson also signed legislation to ban schools and colleges from allowing males to play sports designated for females, and vice versa, though the measure stipulates that institutions may permit females to play in sports designated for males if there is no corresponding opportunity available for females. The ban applies to public and private educational institutions.
"Women and girls deserve and have fought for an equal opportunity to succeed, and with this legislation today, we stand up to the nonsense and stand with them as they take back their sport competitions. In Missouri, we support real fairness, not injustice disguised as social righteousness," the governor said, according to the press release.
Bush opposes the measures.
"It would be nice if @GovParsonMO and the state GOP actually passed legislation that helped the people of Missouri instead of using their time and energy attacking trans people. This is an example of the 'big government' these Republicans decry. Protect trans kids," Bush tweeted.
\u201cIt would be nice if @GovParsonMO and the state GOP actually passed legislation that helped the people of Missouri instead of using their time and energy attacking trans people.\n\nThis is an example of the \u201cbig government\u201d these Republicans decry.\n\nProtect trans kids. \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\u26a7\ufe0f\u201d— Cori Bush (@Cori Bush) 1686162876
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If the law were unconstitutional, the judge wrote, '[a]ny person — including a minor — would be able to obtain anything from meth, to ecstasy, to abortion so long as a single medical professional were willing to recommend it.'
'HB 1878 is the most comprehensive election integrity bill to come out of the [Missouri] General Assembly,' said bill sponsor Rep. John Simmons.
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