Kansas City Chiefs parade shooter ‘sprayed bullets into crowd by spinning in a circle’ before fleeing, says witness
An eyewitness to the gruesome shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl parade claimed a woman begged a gunman “don’t do it” seconds before he spun in circles to pepper as many people as possible with bullets.
Jacob Gooch Jr., who was shot along with his wife and son in the chaos, told CBS Mornings that he heard a young woman tell the gunman, “Not here, this is stupid.”
“My wife and daughter saw the gun come out and started shooting,” he said. “My daughter said a lady stopped him… then he pulled (the gun) out and started shooting and going around in a circle.”
The shots rang out seconds after Chiefs stars left the Super Bowl celebration parade stage, causing chaos as thousands of fans fled for their lives.
The total number of people shot rose to 30 on Thursday morning as several more people were treated for minor injuries, while at least eight victims were in critical condition.
Nine children between the ages of six and 15 were shot in the chaos and a beloved Kansas City radio disc jockey was killed.
Victim Jacob Gooch Jr (pictured) said his wife and daughter, who were also shot, heard a woman begging a gunman not to start shooting seconds before the gunman turned in circles to hit as many people as possible.
Heroic Kansas City Chiefs fans knocked a suspected gunman to the ground amid the chaos
Gooch said he did not see the shooter in person, but was a short distance away as he recalled initially thinking the gunshots were fireworks.
He said he had been shot in the ankle, his wife had been shot through the calf muscle and his son had suffered a gunshot wound to the foot, but fortunately his family was OK other than the wounds and were released from the hospital had returned home.
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said more than 800 law enforcement officers were stationed around the parade, and Gooch said his and his family’s safety was barely on their minds as they headed to the family event.
“(They were) just a bunch of happy people,” he said – before adding that he became ominously scared about 15 minutes before the shooting started.
“I became suspicious of a certain group of people who were there,” he said.
“We were standing on the side of the stage where the shooting happened, and right before it happened, there was a group dressed all in black.
“It was about four, five, six kids, or they looked like kids, with black masks on, and they disappeared into the crowd.”
He said panic and chaos ensued as soon as the show ended, but his view of the carnage was clouded as the huge crowd frantically searched for safety.
Lisa Lopez-Galvan, pictured here with her husband, was the only person to lose her life on the day of the shooting, dying during surgery at a hospital from a gunshot wound to her abdomen.
It comes as tributes have poured in for the only person to lose their life in the shooting, beloved Kansas City radio DJ and mother of two Lisa Lopez-Galvan.
She died during emergency surgery in hospital after suffering a gunshot wound to the abdomen.
Local Democrat Manny Abarca, a friend of Lopez-Galvan, spoke about her impact in an interview with TalkTV’s Jeremy Kyle and Rosie Wright on Talk Today.
‘It’s a tragic situation. I was there with my six-year-old daughter Camilla and we went from catching confetti to hiding in a bathroom, not knowing what our fate might be. Unfortunately, this is the situation at major events like this in America.
“We need to be on the lookout for people with guns that are easily accessible, and especially accessible in states like Missouri.”
While dozens of Kansas City Chiefs fans were in the hospital, star Travis Kelce sparked backlash as he continued to party into the night.
When he went to dinner with his teammates in Kansas City, Kelce appeared cheerful as he took a smiling selfie with a police officer.
The move was seen as ill-timed by some fans, with one saying: ‘It doesn’t look good for him IMO, just hours after one person was killed and others injured.’
Travis Kelce sparked a backlash as he continued his Super Bowl victory party at a Kansas City restaurant last night after the shooting
The tight end looked good just hours after the Chiefs’ Superbowl parade turned into tragedy
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas held a press conference at 6 a.m. Thursday to assure residents that three suspects were in custody, but declined to identify the shooters
Kelce enjoyed his night out before Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas gave an update on the investigation and said he is considering blocking all Superbowl victory parades next year if the Chiefs win again after Wednesday’s horror mass shooting.
The mayor, 39, said three suspects were still being questioned over the tragedy but declined to identify the gunmen who shot 21 people and killed one during Wednesday’s Superbowl parade.
Lucas provided few new details about the tragedy early Thursday morning, apologizing for the “failure to keep everyone safe” during the family event at a news conference at 6 a.m. Thursday.
“I’m sorry this happened yesterday,” he said.
‘We have worked hard to put on an exceptional parade, we have spent millions on it, but we have failed to keep everyone safe and I feel great guilt about that.’
He added in an interview with CBS that a motive for the massacre remains a mystery, and condemned Missouri’s easy access to firearms because “this is not the way I want to live.”
Lucas did not provide details on the type of weapon used, but said it appeared to be “some type of rapid-fire weapon.”