Last Wednesday, following the Chief’s fourth Superbowl win, the Chiefs Kingdom Champion Parade occurred, ending in tragedy as it left one person dead and over twenty injured due to a shooting that broke out at the event. According to a statement made by Jackson County Prosecutor, Jean Peters Baker, the suspects responsible for the shooting were charged for the crime on Tuesday.
According to Baker, Lyndell Mays, the Missouri-born suspect, got into a verbal quarrel with a group of people at the parade that quickly escalated, prompting Mays to reach for his handgun. Not long after, other individuals at the parade, including the other suspect, 18-year-old Dominic Miller from Kansas City, drew out their guns as well.
According to surveillance footage, Miller had been watching the argument from afar when he chose to draw out a gun and started shooting, chasing one of the individuals involved in the quarrel.
Both Miller and Mays were shot amid the chaos, causing both of them to end up in the hospital. When Mays was interrogated by detectives two days after the mass shooting, he told them that he started shooting because someone from the group that he was arguing with told him, “I’m going to get you.” Mays allegedly apologized for his actions, stating, “I shouldn’t have done that. Just being stupid.”
Based on evidence from the scene, Miller’s gun was the one responsible for killing 43-year-old DJ, Lisa Lopez-Galavan, the only person who died as a result of the mass shooting. Despite this evidence, both Miller and Mays were charged with second-degree murder. They were also both charged with two counts of armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon.
Lopez-Galavan’s family released a statement on Tuesday thanking Baker, the Kansas City Police Department, and prosecutors for making it their “top priority to seek justice” for Lopez-Galavan, other victims of the shooting, witnesses of the event, and the community of Kansas City.
According to New York Times, both defendants currently face a one million dollar bond.
ERHS junior, Elizabeth Resendiz Hernandez, was taken aback after she heard that both defendants received the same criminal charge.
“What? The one who killed people should have been charged with first-degree murder,” Hernandez said.
Natalia Garcia, another junior at ERHS, was devastated by the mass shooting.
“I think that this should be a wake-up call to other Americans,” Garcia said. “This shooting is just another example that guns are getting out of control and we need a way to stop these things from happening again.”
