Two teenagers were criminally charged in Kansas City on Friday in connection to the shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory parade that killed a beloved local DJ and injured two dozen others this week.
The teens, who have yet to be named, face charges for illegally possessing guns and for resisting arrest, Missouri’s Office of the Juvenile Officer wrote in a statement.
More charges are expected to be added as the probe continues, the office added.
The suspects have been held at a juvenile detention center while Kansas City police work with prosecutors to determine charges for the shooting, which caused chaos in downtown Kansas City on Wednesday afternoon.
Details on the decision to charge, and the teens’ role in the shooting, has remained largely under wraps because they’re minors, the Kansas City Star reported. Their cases are being handled in family court, which keeps all minors anonymous.
If the teens were to be charged with first-degree assault or murder, they could be charged as adults and face a public criminal trial like adult suspects do, the Star reported.
Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves emphasized Thursday afternoon there was “no nexus to terrorism or homegrown violent extremism” in the shooting, saying it was instead the result of personal beef.
Details on what personal disagreement may have sparked the deadly shooting are yet to be released. Police initially detained a third suspect in addition to the teens, but they were released Thursday after police determined they weren’t involved.
The shooting’s lone fatality was Lisa Lopez-Galvan, a 43-year-old mom and radio DJ who was a popular figure in Kansas City’s Latino community. Her brother told local news that she was shot in front of her son, who was also struck by gunfire but survived.
Graves said the ages of the shooting’s 23 victims ranged from eight to 47 years old.
Horrific videos from the scene spread online, showing hundreds flee the area around Union Station in downtown, not far from where the Chiefs’ players were congregating as the parade wrapped.
The sound of gunfire and screams could be heard on some live news reports, including one from the BBC. Despite the tragedy, Kansas City officials have emphasized that it won’t stop the city from hosting similar events moving forward.