Two charged with murder over Super Bowl parade shooting

Two men have been charged with murder for a gunfight on the fringe of a Super Bowl victory rally in Kansas City, Missouri, that killed one person and wounded more than 20 others, including the suspects, in a quarrel over eye contact, prosecutors said on Tuesday.

Their arrests - one charged on Tuesday, the other on February 17 - brought to four the number of suspects facing prosecution in the Valentine's Day shooting. Two teenagers were taken into custody last week and charged as juveniles in family court with firearms offences and resisting arrest.

Prosecutors have said they would seek to also charge the two minors as adults, and that the investigation was continuing.

The two latest suspects, identified as Dominic Miller, 18, of Kansas City and Lyndell Mays, 23, of suburban Raytown, each faces charges of second-degree murder, two counts of armed criminal action and one count of unlawful use of a weapon.

An account of the bloodshed pieced together from witnesses and video footage determined the violence started when Mays and a group of individuals who confronted him "began arguing about why they were staring at each other," police said in a sworn affidavit filed with the charges.

"According to court records, the defendants attended a Super Bowl parade and rally on February 14, 2024, and were armed with firearms," the Jackson County Prosecutor's Office said in a separate statement. It added: "A verbal altercation occurred and gunfire broke out with no regard for thousands of other individuals in the area."

At a brief news conference announcing the charges, Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said the investigation showed the violence stemmed from an argument between Mays and another person who was a stranger to him.

Baker told reporters their quarrel "very quickly escalated," with Mays pulling out a pistol, followed by others in the vicinity "almost immediately" drawing their weapons.

While both Mays and Miller are charged with murder, Baker said the evidence shows it was a bullet fired from Miller's weapon that struck and killed Elizabeth Lopez-Galvan, 43, an on-air radio personality.

Police have previously said she was one of 23 people struck by gunfire, including at least nine children, but court documents filed against Mays put the total number of known gunshot victims at 25, including Lopez-Galvan.

Conviction for second-degree murder in Missouri is punishable by a prison sentence of 10 to 30 years or life.