It began, prosecutors said, with one man accusing another of staring at him.
Groups of men, who appeared to be strangers, exchanged angry words and threats. A female friend tried to intervene. And then, surrounded by thousands of people at a rally last week celebrating Kansas City’s Super Bowl victory, at least two men pulled out their guns and began shooting.
“Just being stupid,” one of the men, Lyndell Mays, 23, told detectives later, according to the authorities, after admitting to firing his gun at least once or twice into the crowd.
Mr. Mays and another Missouri man, Dominic Miller, 18, were charged with murder for the death of a bystander, prosecutors announced on Tuesday. Ballistics tests revealed that a bullet from Mr. Miller’s gun killed Elizabeth Galvan, 43, a D.J. and radio host known as Lisa, who was at the parade on Wednesday with her family, prosecutors said.
Two dozen people were wounded by gunfire, including nine children.
Prosecutors described how a seemingly mundane interaction spiraled into violence, then chaos. As shots rang out, spectators screamed, ran for cover and rushed to tend to the wounded. Ms. Galvan was lying on the ground, fatally shot in the abdomen. Elected officials in attendance, including the governor of Kansas, were quickly evacuated for their safety.
More charges were expected as the police continue to investigate the shooting, Jean Peters Baker, the Jackson County prosecutor, said. Prosecutors would not say how many guns were believed to have been involved.
“We seek to hold every shooter accountable for their actions on that day,” she said. “Every single one. While we are not there yet on every single individual, we are going to get there.”
Both Mr. Miller and Mr. Mays were shot and remain hospitalized. They each are charged with second-degree felony murder, two counts of armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon. They are each being held on a $1 million bond, and if convicted, could be sentenced to life in prison.
“Consequences must be swift, certain, and severe,” said Mayor Quinton Lucas of Kansas City.
It was not clear whether Mr. Miller or Mr. Mays were represented by lawyers, and the men could not be reached.
Separately, two days after the shooting, two teenagers were charged with resisting arrest and “gun-related” offenses. The teenagers have not been publicly identified and could eventually be tried as adults after a judicial process that can take days or weeks to decide how they should be tried.
The connection between the two men who were charged with murder and the teenagers who were charged with lesser offenses last week is unclear.
In a statement, Ms. Galvan’s family thanked the prosecutor and the Kansas City Police Department for their work in investigating the “senseless act of violence” that killed her.
“Though it does not bring back our beloved Lisa, it is comforting to know that the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office and the K.C.P.D. made it a top priority to seek justice for Lisa, the other shooting victims, those who had to witness this tragedy unfold and the Kansas City community,” the statement said.
The shooting erupted at the end of a parade and rally that drew tens of thousands of jubilant Kansas City Chiefs fans to the downtown area.
Surveillance video from the area, as described in charging documents from prosecutors, showed one group of people staring at one man, and a verbal argument ensuing. More people nearby joined the argument, and as it continued, the people who were involved began to produce firearms.
The authorities said that Mr. Miller was seen in the video appearing to fire shots, then was struck by a bullet in his lower back, causing him to fall to the ground. He then ran away, the charging documents say, shouting “I’m shot, I’m shot.”
A bystander saw that Mr. Miller was carrying a black firearm near his waistband, and tackled and disarmed him, the authorities said.
When interviewed by detectives at the hospital, Mr. Miller admitted that he was armed with a handgun at the rally and said that he fired roughly four or five shots, because he observed another man shooting at him, the authorities say.
Mr. Mays, the other man charged with murder, told detectives at the hospital that he had fired the first shots.
“He hesitated shooting because he knew there were kids there,” according to charging documents. Mr. Mays told the authorities that he only began firing because he believed that a woman in his group was going to be shot, the documents say.
Both the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office and the Kansas City Police Department said they had no previous contact with either Mr. Miller or Mr. Mays.
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