Lisa Lopez-Galvan Tributes Paid to Kansas City DJ Killed in Shooting

Tributes have been paid to the radio DJ killed in a shooting at the end of Wednesday's parade to celebrate the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl win.

Lisa Lopez-Galvan, host of "Taste of Tejano," was killed in the shooting, radio station KKFI said in a Facebook post on Wednesday evening.

"Our hearts and prayers are with her family," KKFI said. "This senseless act has taken a beautiful person from her family and this KC Community."

The Context

One person was killed and at least 21 others were injured in the shooting near Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri, authorities said. At least eight children were among those hit by gunfire, authorities said.

It was the latest sports celebration in the U.S. to end in gun violence after several people were injured in a shooting in Denver after the Denver Nuggets won the NBA championship last year. It also came on the sixth anniversary of the 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Florida, that killed 17 people.

What We Know

Social media users posted video of police running through the crowd as people scrambled for cover and fled. One video showed two people chase and tackle a person, detaining them until people arrived.

At a news conference, Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves said three people had been detained as part of the investigation. She did not immediately confirm if fans were involved in tackling a suspect. Police did not release details about the people who were detained or about a possible motive for the shooting.

Lopez-Galvan, a mother of two, died in hospital from a gunshot wound to her abdomen, The Kansas City Star reported.

She had attended the parade with her husband and adult son, a die-hard Kansas City sports fan who was also shot, The Associated Press reported.

Views

"She's the type of person who would jump in front of a bullet for anybody—that would be Lisa," Rosa Izurieta, a childhood friend told the AP.

Another friend Lisa Lopez, no relation, told the Star that she was the "most wonderful, beautiful person."

"She was a local DJ," she said. "She did everybody's weddings. We all know her. She was so full of life."

Manny Abarca, a Jackson County legislator, wrote on X, formerly Twitter: "I have known Lisa and her family for over a decade. I have witnessed that smile across DJ equipment, and on the stage of our largest Fiesta in Kansas City. I will not let her death go in [vain]. I will legislate, I will fight and I WILL do everything in my power to change this State and City for the better."

What's Next?

The shooting has reignited calls for new gun laws.

"This is difficult for our community," Kanas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, who attended the parade with his wife and mother, said in a statement posted on social media.

"We will continue to work hard to ensure assailants are brought to justice, our victims receive exceptional care, all families impacted receive our support and that we as a city and country do all we can to prevent tragedies like this from ever occurring again."

Lucas had previously joined with other mayors across the country in calling for new laws to reduce gun violence. "Guns are the leading cause of death for children in the United States. All our voices calling out the gun companies are needed to save our babies' lives," he wrote in an op-ed for Newsweek last month following the annual U.S. Conference of Mayors.

President Joe Biden called on Americans to press Congress to ban assault weapons, to limit high-capacity gun magazines, strengthen background checks and "keep guns out of the hands of hose who have no business owning them or handling them."

"Today's events should move us, shock us, shame us into acting," he said in a statement. "What are we waiting for? What else do we need to see? How many more families need to be torn apart?"

Update 2/15/24, 3:30 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.