BREAKING: Shooting At Kansas City Chiefs Parade

One of the nightmare scenarios in my mind has always been someone deciding to shoot up a massive celebration. Particularly something where security can't be tight.

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I won't offer up examples because I don't know how I'd live with myself if someone actually did it.

But we have, unfortunately, seen parades as targets before.

Which brings us to the Kansas City Chiefs.

They just won the Superbowl. Fans were about as high as they could really get through the achievements of others.

And then violence ripped it to shreds.

A day of celebration – to mark the Kansas City Chiefs' third Super Bowl victory in the last five years – turned into tragedy on Wednesday.

At least one person was killed and up to more than a dozen others were injured in a shooting after a rally near Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri, police said.

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Here's what we know so far:

  • Victims: One person is dead and up to 15 others are wounded after the shooting, according to Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves. All Kansas City Chiefs players, coaches and staff are safe and accounted for, Mayor Quinton Lucas said.
  • What happened: The shooting erupted on the west side of Union Station, Graves said. When officers got there, they took two armed people into custody and immediately started helping people who were hurt. Officials are in the beginning stages of figuring out what happened, Graves said, and law enforcement is working to clear surrounding areas. The White House said President Joe Biden has been briefed and federal law enforcement is helping local law enforcement.
  • Eyewitness accounts: One woman said she was standing to the right of the stage when the shooting happened. She described the confusion of the crowd and seeing police run into buildings around Union Station and swarm a stairwell. She also said she heard "pop" sounds. Madison Anderes, 24, who attended the Super Bowl parade with her brother and mother, said she felt like she "was going to die."
  • Reactions: Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said on social media that he is praying for his city. Chiefs guard Trey Smith also said his "thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by today's incidents." Chiefs defensive tackle Mike Pennel and offensive tackle Donovan Smith both said on social media that they too are praying after the incident. 
  • The celebration before the shooting: The parade started with Chiefs players crowded on double-decker buses, waving to fans as they rolled through the city. Players also left their rides to walk the parade route, high-fiving fans and some even handing out a few libations to people who had been waiting throughout the morning to cheer on the Chiefs. A pep rally following the parade featured several players toasting the team’s connection with the city.
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Additionally, two people were detained by police, though it's unclear if these were suspects or not.

Officials did describe the shooting as "criminal" in nature versus terrorism. How they figured that was not made immediately clear.

Something else we know is that there will invariably people who are looking at how to turn this toward a push for gun control. The nature of this incident--during a celebration for a victory felt throughout the state--is likely to shake a lot of people.

We also know that since a significant number of the victims are children, it's going to make that impact even worse, thus likely to be brought up as some reason for immediacy for anti-gun action.

But we really know remarkably little right now.

We're still trying to process just what happened and our energies really need to be focused on saving the lives currently in danger and mourning the one lost. We shouldn't make it about politics right now. Let the police do their jobs and let the information come.

Then we can have the discussion. Then we can talk about it from the perspective of what happened, not what we imagine happened.

I mean, they're already calling this a mass shooting despite only a single, yet tragic, fatality. It's a horrific enough event without pretending it's something that it's not.

Needless to say, we'll be following this one in the coming days and weeks. We'll have those discussions and learn more and more about what actually transpired.

In the meantime, I'll be praying for all those souls affected by this awful tragedy. I'll also pray for the souls of the morbid people who think this is a grand opportunity to talk politics rather than focus on what's important.

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