A shooting near Union Station in Kansas City, Mo., on Wednesday afternoon left one person dead and at least 21 others with gunshot wounds, including nine children.
The eruption of violence came as thousands of people had gathered for a public celebration of the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl win, and transformed a day of joy and civic pride into one of loss and fear.
Here is what we know about the shooting so far:
The motive is not known, and no suspect has been named.
It was unclear who was responsible for the shooting.
Three people had been detained, Chief Stacey Graves of the Kansas City police said, but she did not name them. Investigators had not identified a motive, she added, and were working to tally the number of rounds that had been fired.
The chief asked the public to provide any video or other information that could help the authorities determine what had happened.
Many of the wounded were children.
Chief Graves said Wednesday that the authorities were still working to identify the deceased victim and notify the person’s family.
Medical centers in the area took in more than two dozen patients, hospital officials said.
Children’s Mercy Hospital said it was treating 11 children, ages 6 to 15, and one mother who would not leave her child during the shooting. Nine of the children suffered gunshot wounds. None of the children were in critical condition, and all were expected to recover.
Twelve people were taken to University Health, formerly Truman Medical Center. Eight of them were being treated for gunshot wounds, including two in critical condition.
And one victim with a gunshot wound was in critical condition at Saint Luke’s Hospital. Three other people walked in with injuries.
The location of the shooting was a focal point for the day’s events.
The celebration of Kansas City’s victory included a parade through the city’s downtown and ended with a rally in front of Union Station, an Amtrak hub and tourist spot.
“As soon as the rally concluded, there were shots fired on the west side of Union Station,” Chief Graves said, adding, “I know one of the suspects was immediately pursued on foot.”
When the chaos erupted, many attendees said it was hard to know where to go.
At first, the shots sounded like fireworks, said Ian Johnson, who had been selling hot dogs near the main event stage. Only when fans started running — some of them took shelter under his hot dog tent — did he realize that a shooting was underway.
Courtney Brown, of Independence, Mo., and her two sons were also near the stage when the gunfire began. She didn’t hear shots, she said. But she did hear someone shout, “Get down.”
Her instincts told her to flee, so she told her children to keep moving. “We were almost trampled twice,” she said. The three of them locked arms and huddled near a barricade until the crush of the crowd had eased.
The team was joined at the rally by the region’s political leaders.
Gov. Laura Kelly of Kansas had to be evacuated and posted on social media that she was “out of harm’s way.” Gov. Mike Parson of Missouri and his wife were both “safe and secure,” the governor’s office said.
The football team said that all their players, staff and families had also made it away from the event safely.
Patrick Mahomes, the quarterback who led his team to victory on Sunday, said that he was “praying for Kansas City” on social media.
Other players shared similar messages of support to the community that had gathered downtown.
Guard Trey Smith thanked the emergency personnel “who ran towards the sound of danger,” and linebacker Drue Tranquill recognized the efforts of doctors caring for the people who had been shot. Marquez Valdes-Scantling, a receiver who caught a touchdown in Sunday’s game, sought to connect with the children who were being treated at a local children’s hospital, to offer them support “any way I can.”
Reporting was contributed by Traci Angel, Kevin Draper, Colbi Edmonds Jacey Fortin, Jesus Jiménez, Ben Shpigel and Jenny Vrentas.
