“How many more have to die?”
Deadly tragedy shakes up football stars
February 15, 2024, 8:36 a.m
The celebration of the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl triumph goes from a day of celebration to a deadly tragedy in just a few seconds. Several players, including superstars Travis Kelce and Pat Mahomes, react. However, only the players from the second row find clear words.
At the victory parade for the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl triumph, shots are fired, numerous people – including many children – are injured, and a radio station announces the death of one of its presenters. “15 to 20 shots in a short time” were fired at the crowd, a witness reported. The shots would have caused panic among people. Some of the injured were in mortal danger, the fire department said.
Hundreds of thousands of people celebrated the Chiefs on Wednesday in a sea of red and gold confetti, driving a three-kilometer-long bus parade through the streets of Kansas City. The team won the Super Bowl, the final game of the NFL professional football league, against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday in Las Vegas. According to police, the motive for the shooting is unclear and three people were arrested.
“How many more people have to die?”
In the meantime, numerous players from the Super Bowl champions have also reacted to the shots. “I am heartbroken by the tragedy that occurred today. My heart goes out to everyone who celebrated with us and those affected by it. KC, you mean the world to me,” wrote tight end Travis Kelce X. His girlfriend, pop superstar Taylor Swift, didn’t show up for the celebrations. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who led his team to its third title in the past five years and was voted the Super Bowl’s most valuable player, posted the obligatory “I’m praying for Kansas City.”
Wide receiver Kadarius Toney posted a video on X of Kansas City police detaining a person and wrote, “I hope this guy never sees the light of day again.” Linebacker Drue Tranquill called the shooting of X a “heinous act” and added his prayer that “the doctors and first responders have steady hands and that everyone receives complete healing.”
Other players weighed in on gun laws in the US in their reactions. “When are we going to change these gun laws?” wrote defensive end Charles Omenihu on to come, and that is a FACT.” The state of Missouri, where Kansas City is located, allows the open carry of firearms without any additional necessary permits “as long as the firearm is not displayed in an angry or threatening manner.”
“Someone didn’t come home tonight”
Safety Justin Reid called the shooting at “That we become callous and dismiss it as ‘just another shooting in America’ and reduce people to statistics and then move on,” he said. “This is a serious problem! I pray that our politicians will find real solutions so that our children’s children no longer have to experience this violence.”
Guard Trey Smith told NBC News that he didn’t know what was going on when he and his teammates were pushed off the stage into nearby Union Station to seek shelter. Only then would the team have learned that there was at least one shooter causing terror outside. Later, the players and others were directed to a bus to be taken away, Smith said. He discovered a nervous boy in the back of the bus who was “part of our organization.”
Smith, who received a belt from the wrestling organization WWE at the parade, decided to show the boy the belt and talk about wrestling “just to calm his nerves. I was just trying to find common ground with wrestling to find,” Smith said. “I just wanted to distract him from this moment and give him a moment of happiness.”