it turns out the bus drivers i know were back at their hotel when the shooting happened.
the drivers had dropped off the players and parked the buses and were in their hotels rooms when the shooting happened. they had no idea until their phones started blaring.
just horrifing that this happened.
This is disturbing. Because of a few asshats these cities are going to have to adopt or hire the security system that NYC uses for the Times Square New Year’s Eve celebration. If you don’t know much about it, it is a very sophisticated and expensive system.
Nobody breaths easier on Jan. 2nd than the people in charge of the system when there hasn’t been an incident.
To think that cities like Kansas City may be forced into such a security system is disheartening. How we’ve devolved . . .
Speculation? I haven’t seen any official pronouncements to that effect.
And it would be a breathtaking leap of faith for Kansas City to assume they would need permanent crowd control and security to protect sports champions celebrations the way some cities need such protection for a New Year’s party. Since you can count on New Year’s Eve happening every year.
From this morning’s KCPD press conference on the parade shooting:
“Hey, let’s go to the Super Bowl rally! And don’t forget your guns, because we might get into an argument with somebody!”
Perhaps you should attach the breaking news tag to this thread?
I’m not big on tagging so I didn’t think about it. I added it now.
The NYPD are considered the subject matter experts on crowd control. Not just NYE but various UN protests, presidential visits, parades, the marathon etc… I believe they have a unit that full time handles these things. Very few departments have the need or the resources to put into occurrences that may or may not happen.
When I heard the press conference when they stated there were 800 police covering the area my initial reaction was that’s not nearly enough. When I saw how open the area was and heard the estimate of around 1 million people I was sure that wasn’t nearly enough.
I do find it odd that no one was formally charged yet. Makes me wonder if they have enough to charge. Is there video or credible eyewitnesses that prove who was shooting?
I will be amazed if this doesn’t turn out to be some sort of gang-related thing.
One legal analyst I saw on TV said they are probably deciding whether to charge them as juveniles or adults.
As of 2021, the Kansas City Missouri Police Department consisted of barely 2000 employees, total. About 1,200 officers.
800 sworn officers at a single event is a breathtaking commitment out of a department that small.
I don’t think they could have done better. KC is not NYC.
In the 24 hour news cycle speculation becomes news. I hope that’s the case and they have a strong evidence already. I just hope that someone didn’t get grabbed because a bunch of people in the chaos yelled “Grab that guy!” and then the witnesses melted away. As far as I can tell In Missouri it is a criminal offense for a minor to possess a weapon. There are also statutes for certain felons being unable to possess firearms. It could be they are being held on the weapons charge while witness interviews are happening. In such a chaotic sudden event witness reports may be spotty.
From what I read it was 600 from the KC police department. 200 from elsewhere like the state police and neighboring departments. One possibility would be the National Guard. They could be used for logistics and perimeter traffic control to free up police to be police. When Giants Stadium hosted the Super Bowl I knew many who took the state activation to work the game and the surrounding area.
Sharing a personal photo to provide some reference. (It’s Google photos so you may have to click to see the whole thing.) This is looking north from the top of the Liberty Memorial towards downtown. Union Station and the large open area are at the bottom.
I’m pretty sure that it’s common for police departments to contact officers from neighboring areas when there’s going to be a big event.
That’s why I suggested that they might hire that level of security for special events so they don’t have to maintain a permanent system.
This article states that the adult that was detained was released and it was determined he was not involved. I don’t know where that leaves the investigation.
KCTV5 just interviewed someone that was at the rally, and they said this was the 4th shooting they have attended in 3 years. A little experience probably doesn’t hurt.
This seems to be the consenses. The police chief today said “A dispute between several people that ended in gunfire.” I’m trying to imagine “several” people getting in a gunfight and hitting 20+ other people and NOT hitting the ones they’re shooting at.
I’ve heard multiple reports of one of them shooting in a circle. So the dispute angle may not be accurate.