KANSAS CITY, Mo. — April Coleman spent Sunday with family and friends on the streets handing out green beads at the St. Patrick’s Day parade in Kansas City, Missouri, and she said she won’t let last month’s deadly shooting during a other large mass gathering.
A rally celebrating the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs was disrupted when two groups of people began shooting at each other, killing a mother of two and wounding about 20 others – half of them under the age of 16.
Coleman acknowledged that the shooting was not completely out of her mind, but said she had never considered skipping the St. Patrick’s Day parade.
“I don’t want to live my life in fear,” she said. “I still want to come out and have fun with good people.”
This time, with a heavy police presence, it was quiet. Police spokeswoman Alayna Gonzalez said only two people were arrested, both for non-violent crimes.
Erin Gabert of the parade committee said the crowd seemed a little smaller this year, but it was unclear whether that was because people were still scared after the shooting, or if the cool, chilly weather kept people away.
Along the route, a man driving a Corvette in the parade stopped long enough to shake hands with a police officer, and several others did so as well. One car was pulled by a truck with a sign on the front that read “Kansas City Strong.”
The parade organizers and the police did everything they could to take measures to ensure safety. Gonzalez said 400 officers were on the scene. Uniformed officers lined the long parade route, while many more in plainclothes mingled with the green-clad crowd. Other officers watched from the rooftops. A police helicopter hovered above the parade.
However, the Super Bowl shooting showed that there are limitations to what can be done to stop a sudden outbreak of violence. About 800 officers were on the streets that day when the shots rang out near the end of the Feb. 14 rally.
Police said two groups of people became agitated, apparently because each group didn’t like how members of the other were looking at them. Lisa Lopez-Galvan, a 43-year-old radio personality, was standing nearby when she was fatally struck.
Last month, two men were charged with manslaughter and other crimes. Three other people were indicted Monday, accused of illegally purchasing high-powered rifles and weapons with extended magazines, including weapons involved in the shooting. And two young people are in custody on charges of weapons-related arrest and resisting.
Organizers of the St. Patrick’s Day parade and people involved in other major parades met shortly after the shooting to compare contingency plans and discuss best practices to address potential problems.
Parade leaders urged parade goers to leave their weapons at home and arrive with a plan for where to park and where to meet if people become separated. Families were encouraged to have children wear something that identifies them. They were also encouraged to alert police or a volunteer if they saw anything unusual.
Gabert understood why some were hesitant to attend this year’s parade. Those who did, they said, seemed to be having a good time.
“It was nice to have some normalcy, feel good and enjoy St. Patrick’s Day,” she said.
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Salter reported from O’Fallon, Missouri.