Two teenagers have been charged with resisting arrest and “gun-related” crimes in connection with a shooting that left one person dead and nearly 20 injured during a Super Bowl championship celebration in Kansas City, Missouri, authorities said Friday. Announced.
A spokesperson for the Jackson County, Missouri, Juvenile Services Department said additional charges are expected to be filed. The undisclosed teens remained in custody Friday at a juvenile detention center.
The boys may eventually be tried as adults, after a judicial process that can take days or weeks to decide how they should be tried. Police initially detained a third youth, but later determined he was not involved in the shooting and released him without charge.
Public Defender Walter Stokely said his office will represent one of the boys. He declined to comment.
Under Missouri law, most judicial hearings for minors are closed to the public.
After being taken into custody, most juveniles in Missouri are released to their parents or guardians unless they are charged with a serious crime, such as a felony or weapons offense. Rather than filing charges directly with the court, prosecutors conduct investigations in cooperation with juvenile staff, who are court officials who work similarly to prosecutors.
Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said Friday that her office is working with investigators and juvenile court officials.
In Missouri, if a child 12 years of age or older is charged with a felony, they can be prosecuted as an adult. This would require a juvenile judge to hold a hearing in which the juvenile judge agrees to transfer the case out of the juvenile system.
Authorities said the shooting stemmed from an argument between several people. The shooting occurred outside Union Station in Kansas City on Wednesday afternoon. Tens of thousands of Kansas City football fans gathered at the station to celebrate the team's Super Bowl victory.
Officials said 22 people were injured, and about half of the victims were under the age of 16. Most of the injured were shot.
The slain person was identified as Elizabeth Galvan, 43, also known as Lisa Lopez Galvan. She was a local radio show host, mother of two, and an avid supporter of the Kansas City Chiefs, according to her friends.
Courtney and Jesse King, who were at the rally with their three sons, said they witnessed an altercation between at least four people and two young men violently firing shots at each other.
The Kings said they witnessed a woman and man exchanging harsh words with two other men, at least one of whom may be a teenager. Guns were immediately drawn and the two young men began firing at each other.
“They were running away from each other,” King said. “But they were still firing their weapons in the back and weren't really aiming.”
Some people fled or hid. Waves of fans, many wearing team jerseys, sprinted through the barricaded streets that had been the scene of last-minute festivities.
One video showed two men tackling a man and holding him down until police arrived. One of the men, Paul Contreras, said he saw the gun fall to the ground as he was removing the man.
Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves praised the actions of bystanders, saying they “physically stopped the individual believed to be involved” in the shooting.
Jaycee Fortin Contributed to the report. Susan C. Beachy contributed to research.
