Jacob Gooch Sr. said he hasn’t begun to process the tragedy that unfolded before his family’s eyes on Wednesday when they were shot during the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory parade. One person died and multiple others were wounded.
Gooch said he heard an altercation and then said he heard a girl say, “Don’t do it, not here, this is stupid,” he said.
When the gunshots began, Gooch said he thought the sound was fireworks. But his family members said they saw the shooter’s movements before the mayhem began.
“My daughter said that some lady was holding him back, and people started backing up, and he pulled it out and starting shooting and spinning in a circle,” Gooch said.
Gooch said his daughter was not shot, but his wife was shot in her calf, and his son was shot in his foot. Gooch said he was shot in his ankle and has broken bones in his foot.
The person who was killed was identified as local radio host Lisa Lopez-Galvan, authorities said Thursday.
Authorities in Kansas City, Missouri, said two of the three people detained in the wake of the shooting are juveniles. At least 21 people were wounded in the shooting, Kansas City Police Department Chief Stacey Graves said Wednesday.
The shooting appeared to stem from a dispute between several people, police said Thursday.
Wearing a Chiefs T-shirt, Gooch said Thursday that he felt like the parade was a safe place to go.
“We actually talked about it,” he said. “It’s just a bunch of happy people. Nothing’s going to happen.”
“Kansas City mayor says “it’s OK to be hurting today”
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas told “CBS Mornings” on Thursday that while the investigation was still ongoing, officials do not believe it is linked to terrorism, and said the motive is being investigated.
“We also know that this, at least from sounds, was some sort of rapid fire firearm that would be either consistent in situations with a switch device, or something else that fires rapidly rather than perhaps a traditional type revolver,” he said.
Facing the grim reality of being another city scarred by a mass shooting, Lucas, who was born and raised in Kansas City, said he couldn’t sleep last night.
“I was thinking about if we’re lucky enough to have enough championship, is this something in good conscience that we could put together again,” Lucas said.
Lucas expressed concern about incidents like shootings happening at public events in the future.
“What I do know is that this is not the way I want to live,” he said. “I’m not 40 years old yet, I’m not some super old man, but I remember in America where you could go to big events without a fear of shooting, where schools weren’t armed fortresses, where you didn’t have to see this happening again and again. I want us to get back to that.”
Regarding Wednesday’s shooting, Lucas said the “threat is over” and commended law enforcement officers for their bravery and quick response. He also offered words of encouragement for those who attended the parade.
“What I would say to them is to take some time and space,” he said. “There were probably more than 500,000 people around the Union Station complex yesterday. That was a lot of people who are part of a very traumatic incident, and a lot of children. Please talk to them, hug them, pray with them, process with them. Things shouldn’t be this way. But it’s okay to be hurting today. We will get through this together.”
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