Who are the victims of the Kansas City shooting? Radio DJ mother-of-two killed at Super Bowl parade
Lisa Lopez-Galvan was a 43-year-old mother of two and local radio DJ
Kansas City Police reveal at least half of the shooting victims are under the age of 16
At least 23 people were shot, including multiple children, in a mass shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory parade near Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri, on Wednesday.
Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves said at a press conference on Thursday that half of the victims shot in the attack are children while one victim – a 43-year-old mother-of-two – died.
So far, the investigation has found that the shooting may have stemmed from a dispute between people and was not terrorism-related, police said.
Three individuals were detained in connection to the shooting and firearms were also recovered from the scene. One of the three was later released without charge.
All of those detained were juveniles.
No charges have yet been filed with the 24-hour charging window closing in.
Many questions remain about what happened, who the shooter or shooters are, as well as the identities of the victims caught in the crossfire.
Here’s what we know so far about the victims:
At least 22 people suffered gunshot wounds when shooters attacked the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade
Beloved mother and radio DJ killed
Among the 23 people shot, one woman – Lisa Lopez-Galvan – was killed.
Lopez-Galvan was a 43-year-old mother-of-two and beloved local radio DJ. She died on scene, police said.
Her adult son and cousins, believed to be minors, also may have been wounded in the shooting, The Kansas City Star reported.
Beto Lopez, the victim’s brother, told ABC News that his sister “loved her family” and had a “life-of-the-party” personality.
“She was dearly loved in this community and gave a lot back,” Mr Lopez said.
Ms Lopez-Galvan’s two adult children and two other relatives — the children of her cousin — were also with her at the parade, The Kansas City Star reports. Ms Lopez-Galvan’s son was shot and has since been released from the hospital, according to the outlet. The two young girls were also struck, but their wounds are not life-threatening, a relative told The Kansas City Star.
Lopez-Galvan worked as a local DJ, with her radio station KKFI also confirming her death in a statement on Wednesday evening.
“It is with sincere sadness and an extremely heavy and broken heart that we let our community know that KKFI DJ Lisa Lopez-Galvan, host of Taste of Tejano lost her life today in the shooting at the KC Chiefs’ rally,” the station said.
Lisa Lopez-Galvan pictured on left
“This senseless act has taken a beautiful person from her family and this KC Community,” they continued.
Manny Abarca, a Kansas City lawmaker and friend of Lopez-Galvan, also memorialised her in a post on X.
“I have known Lisa and her family for over a decade. I have witnessed that smile across DJ equipment, and on the stage of our largest Fiesta in #KansasCity,” he said.
“I will not let her death go in vein. I will legislate, I will fight and I WILL do everything in my power to change this State and City for the better.”
10-year-old boy shot while attending parade with family
Samuel Arellano, 10, had attended the parade with his grandfather, aunt and uncle. He was struck by a bullet which hit him just under the arm.
“When I heard the gunshots, I hid,” Samuel told The Independent on Thursday morning. “I fell to the ground and then hid behind a trashcan.”
But because the gunshot wound didn’t bleed, Samuel and his family didn’t discover the wound until they arrived home. After Samuel was taken to the hospital, doctors “took some parts of the bullet out” and told Samuel’s family the injury had been within centimeters of his pulmonary artery.
Samuel was treated at Mercy Children’s Hospital, where doctors told his family the bullet had been centimeters away from doing serious damage, his aunt said
One victim says he and his family members were shot
Another survivor, Jacob Gooch, told CBS Mornings about the moments leading up to the shooting. Mr Gooch said he, his wife and his son were all shot.
“I personally did not see the shooter,” Mr Gooch said on Thursday morning. “I heard the altercation of a girl or some girls like ‘don’t do it, not here this is stupid’ or something like that. And then the gunshots, which at the time I thought were fireworks.”
The survivor also told CBS Mornings that he saw a group of suspicious people before gunshots rang out, though he was not sure if they were actually connected to the attack.
“I mean, I got suspicious of a certain group of people that were there,” Mr Gooch said. “We were standing on the left side of the stage when the shooting ended up happening. And right before it ended up happening, there was this group dressed in all black. About four, five, six kids with black on, black masks.”
“They disappeared into the crowd and then the show ended and as soon as we started walking around, it happened,” he continued.
Half the victims are under 16
The 22 surviving gunshot victims include multiple children, with police confirming that at least half of the victims are aged under 16.
The youngest victim is just eight years old, while the oldest is 47, the police chief said.
Children’s Mercy Kansas City Hospital treated eleven children on Wednesday night, Senior Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer Stephanie Meyer said. Nine of those children suffered gunshot wounds.
As of Thursday afternoon, eight children have been discharged and three remain in the hospital, Ms Meyer told reporters. The children who have not been discharged are expected to make a full recovery, she said.
Kansas City Fire Chief Ross Grundyson provided updates on the severity of injuries at Thursday’s press conference: “Eight critical, seven serious and six patients with minor injuries. All the critical patients were transported off the scene within 10 minutes of our point of contact with them.”
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