Three women’s lawyers have filed a complaint against the city and a number of other defendants after being caught in the riot of gunfire at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl rally and protest in February 2024, alleging that the affair had not been prevented by security measures.
According to the complaint, which was filed on Monday in Jackson County Circuit Court, one woman was killed and dozens of people were hurt in the firing near Union Station. One of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, Erika Reyes, one of the victims, and her two children were among the victims.
Fuentes, Esmeralda Ortiz, and Kathleen Martinez, the three girls, were close to the gunshots and involved in a shooting victim’s family, according to the lawsuit. Fuentes, her two kids, and one of Martinez’s children were shot, according to prosecutors.
While young people carried out the shooting with guns and short-barreled rifle on February 14, their attorneys said in a statement that” the responsibility for the shooting does not rest solely with them.” This horror was also the result of carelessness on many levels. We are taking this action to protect the lives of the victims of this tragedy, hold all parties guilty, and make it safer for our community to move forward.
The march had no protection measures— checkpoints, material detectors, or barriers, according to the lawsuit, despite police officers spread out throughout the festival route and rally areas. According to attorneys, those safety measures were required at large gatherings, which would have prevented the drama.
According to authorities, a conflict between two groups erupted into gunfire that caused attendees at the protest to flee for safety. A 43-year-old Johnson County resident and DJ was tragically shot. As they fled the area, many others were hurt by gunfire, and many others suffered broken bones, head injury, and dislocated legs.
According to the complaint,” This case is specially crucial today, given the possibility of another Celebration Rally, as well as the surety of another large gathering celebration at the Liberty Memorial, when the 2026 FIFA World Cup takes position.”
The plaintiff demands injuries as well as a court order for organizers to adhere to safety protocols like gates, barriers, scanners, and collaborate with outside security consultants for upcoming events.
Local frontrunners considered whether a prospective celebration event should be held after the 2024 crime, whether the Chiefs had won Super Bowl LIX, or whether to avoid another large rally. Mayor Quinton Lucas told The Kansas City Star that one option would have included a ticketed protest followed by a parade earlier this year as the Chiefs kicked off their playoff run. Security checkpoints like those viewers go through at sporting events would have been a part of the march.
The City of Kansas City acknowledges the widespread effect the Super Bowl march firing had on our society, according to a statement released on Tuesday for the Star. The City condemns the unlawful conduct that caused a supposed celebration to take place. Although the City has not yet received the petition, we will carefully review it once it is received and listen in accordance with the law.
Following the shooting, the three men and three unknown individuals are named in the lawsuit’s criminal charges against them. They claim they fired into the group with “malicious intention.”
Fedo Manning, Ronnel Williams Jr., and Chaelyn Groves are also accused in connection with the weapons used in the killing, and those three people are also named as defendants in the civil complaint. The people allegedly participated in illegal straw acquisitions and gun trafficking, according to the costs.
Union Station, the Greater Kansas City Sports Commission ,O’Neill Events &, Marketing, and Flyover Event Co. LLC, all of whom the complaint claimed were involved with the event’s planning. The Ammo Box, R. K. Shows Mo., Frontier Justice LS, LLC, and Inc. were named as well, which the lawsuit claims were linked to the profits of the weapons used in the killing.
Maintaining should have known that Holding was a part of weapons trafficking, according to the lawsuit, who reportedly sold 23 firearms to Frontier Justice between May and October 2022.
According to the lawsuit, The Ammo Box reportedly ignored” clear indicators” that Williams was purchasing a gun for someone else. When Williams was 19 and never legally able to purchase a weapon, Gores supposedly gave him the funds to purchase the weapon at an R. K. Gun Shows function in November 2023. Following the march shooting, the gun was later discovered outside Union Station.
The complaint does not specify hearing dates.
On Tuesday, different accused in the case were unavailable for comment.
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