(Missouri News Service – Farah Siddiqi) – Wednesday’s Kansas City Chiefs victory parade turned fatal, prompting gun-law activists to call for reform.
One person died, more than twenty were shot and three people are in custody following what was supposed to be a celebration parade for the Chiefs.
Valentyna Usyk attended the parade. “On our way home, we heard, like, pop, pop, pop, pop, and I was like, I think those are gunshots,” Usyk recounted. “Things just can’t go without being addressed. Something should be done. We can’t just let things continue like this.”
Former Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who survived being shot more than a decade ago, released a statement saying, “The celebration has turned into a nightmare again. Americans should not have to live in constant fear of gun violence, not at a Super Bowl victory parade or anywhere else.”
Tara Bennett, a spokesperson for the Missouri chapter of Moms Demand Action, said Missouri has some of the weakest gun laws in the country, and lobbyists are even now working to give more access to guns in places of worship, around transit, and other sensitive places in the state.
“It’s awful. It’s terrible. And it’s devastating,” Bennett stressed. “More guns don’t make us safer. And we have a proliferation of guns in Missouri, and we just had a shooting at one of the happiest days in our state.”
The Chiefs issued a statement shortly after the shooting, confirming that all team players were safe. Gov. Mike Parson and his wife attended the parade and reported they are safe as well.
