OAN’s Elizabeth Volberding
10:42 AM – Monday, February 19, 2024
Authorities announced on Friday that two minors had been charged with offenses related to the mass shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl rally, as the city now works to heal from the tragedy.
On Thursday, the juveniles were charged and are now currently being held in the county’s Juvenile Detention Center “on gun-related and resisting arrest charges,” according to a press release from the Jackson County Family Court in Missouri.
According to the Jackson County Family Court Division, the minors are being held on gun and resisting arrest charges and have not yet been identified since they are being charged as juveniles.
“The juveniles are currently detained in secure detention at the Juvenile Detention Center on gun-related and resisting arrest charges,” the court declared in a statement. “It is anticipated that additional charges are expected in the future as the investigation by the Kansas City Police Department continues.”
The minors could potentially be charged as adults. However, law enforcement procedures can take days or weeks to be carried out, forcing the community to be patient as they await the news. Officials also stated that more charges are anticipated to come as the investigation is ongoing.
The shooting took place on Wednesday afternoon in downtown Kansas City, close to Union Station, the location of the rally and the conclusion of the parade. Authorities said that there was no proof of violent extremism or terrorism and that they believe that an “argument between a few people” resulted before the gunfire.
Following Wednesday’s tragedy, which left one woman dead and at least 22 people injured after gunfire broke out outside the city’s iconic Union Station following the NFL team’s victory celebration, the two minors were taken into custody.
The ages of the 22 victims of the shooting varied from eight to 47-years-old, with half of them being younger than 16. Nine of the 11 kids who were taken to the children’s hospital had gunshot wounds, according to officials.
In the meantime, a 43-year-old radio dj and mother of two, Lisa Lopez-Gavlan, was murdered in the devastation.
A spokesman for the Kansas City Police Department confirmed that a third minor, who had also been detained, was released on Thursday after investigators concluded that they were not involved.
Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves approved of the charges in a statement on X, formerly Twitter.
“I am grateful for the charges against the two juveniles who hurt innocent people, simultaneously scarring an entire community,” Graves said. “Our investigators will not relent until everyone who may have played a part in these crimes is apprehended so that they may be punished to the fullest extent of the law.”
The charges follow Graves’ statement the day before the tragedy that insinuated the shooting seemed more like the product of a personal argument turned violent rather than a premeditated attack.
“This appears to be a dispute between several people that ended in gunfire,” Graves said in a Thursday news conference. “Preliminary investigative findings have shown there is no nexus to terrorism or homegrown violent extremism.
The police chief also stated that after the shooting, multiple abandoned firearms were discovered at the scene.
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