Will You Still Attend Detroit’s NFL Draft After Seeing KC Shooting?

In a matter of one hour, the city of Kansas City, Missouri went from full-on ecstatic euphoria, to horrifying reality. The Chiefs were celebrating their latest Super Bowl win with a parade, and presentation in downtown - something the city has done twice prior in the past five years.

But the end of this year's parade ended in a much different matter, after gun shots rang out, sending crowds scrambling for cover. During an event when you get to see NFL players more drunk than they've ever been in their entire lives, it's a sobering reality check of what going out in public with a crowd is like in the U.S. So after seeing these events unfold, and the NFL Draft coming to Detroit in April, are you still planning to attend?

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The Kansas City Shooting Incident

For those unaware of the details, shortly following the festivities in Kansas City on Wednesday afternoon, police reported shots fired at a section along the parade route.

Police were quick to respond, and have now apprehended two juveniles and another adult, who they believe fired the shots - one of those gunmen was actually tackled by fans nearby, seen in a video circulating around social media right now.

Sadly, the shooting seems to have injured at least 20 people, eight of which were children, and did take the life of one person - a local radio DJ named Lisa Lopez-Galvan, who had a show on KKFI.

At this time, officials believe that the shooting simply stemmed from an argument between several people, and had no specific motivation.

When the shooting happened, players were still on stage, but wrapping things up, as part of the victory rally. Immediately following, the Chiefs, and many other teams across the league offered their thoughts on the incident.  

Does The KC Shooting Make you Rethink Attending Detroit's NFL Draft?

Following this most recent mass shooting, especially with it being at an NFL event, questions have been raised about public safety in large gatherings, and this April, Detroit will also be filled with millions of fans attending the NFL Draft.

One factor that people should consider are the current gun laws in place, as Michigan has more than Missouri. In fact, Michigan just passed four new laws that go into effect in 2024, including safe storage, universal background checks, a gun ban for people convicted of domestic violence, and new "Red Flag" laws that identify people who might be at risk of harming themselves, or others.

But as we just saw, laws and security can only go so far. One thing Missouri does have is a full Open Carry law, with no permit needed. However, local governments can overrule the law, and in theory, we assume no guns were allowed on the premises of the parade route, too.

As for Michigan, you can also open carry a weapon, so long as you're older than 18, and the weapon is legally yours. We do, also assume, that weapons will be banned at the NFL Draft in April.

But yet, despite large amounts of security, laws, and rules, guns still found their way onto the parade route, and now one person is dead, and more than 20 more - including children - have been injured.

So if you had plans to attend the NFL Draft in Detroit, which many stereotype as one of the most violent cities in the country (despite plummeting numbers over the past year), are you still planning on attending this April, after what happened in Kansas City?