More Arrests in Super Bowl Shootout

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

Last month the Kansas City Chiefs won their second consecutive Superbowl, and on February 14^th, one month ago today and Valentine’s Day, there was a big parade downtown followed by a rally in front of Union Station.  More than a million people were in attendance.  The joyful activity, however, was brought to a sudden halt when gunfire erupted out in the cheering masses.  One person was killed and twenty-two injured, some of them children, in the ensuing bloody mayhem.
 
Local police arrested two adult males six days later and each face charges of second-degree murder, two counts of armed criminal action, and unlawful use of a weapon.  The shootout was the result of a disagreement, and others in the crowd pulled weapons as well.
 
Yesterday it was announced that three additional adult males (ages 19, 21, and 22) have been charged for their roles in the trafficking of firearms and straw purchases of firearms related to the shooting.   None of the three are being charged as shooters in the deadly crime.
 
The Kansas City Police Department did not rest on their laurels after arresting the shooters.  They went out looking for the source of the guns, and, in the process made three more arrests – and - made their city safer.  Every American city should be focused on not only taking down the shooters, but also on taking out the people responsible for putting guns into the hands of criminals.  All the registration, licensing requirements, and waiting periods in the world will not be effective while straw buyers – people who can pass background checks – are purchasing weapons and then transporting them on to people with criminal histories and evil intent.
 
Surely there is room for federal authorities to provide much closer scrutiny of gun sales without forcing our cowardly politicians to have to vote on the matter.  All levels of government should be using all available means to reduce the number of guns on American streets.
 
Focusing on gun traffickers and straw purchases makes good sense in the war on gun crime.  When guns are used in crimes, they should be confiscated and destroyed – no exceptions.   (Melt those suckers into 2^ndAmendment paperweights and sell them to raise money for local law enforcement agencies.  I would buy a couple!)
 
Kudos to the Kansas City Missouri Police Department for casting a wide net.  Taking five criminals off the streets is clearly an important step in the right direction!
 
And while I’m at it, kudos also to the courts of Michigan for bringing charges against James and Jennifer Crumbley, the parents of Oxford, Michigan, school shooter, Ethan Crumbley, a troubled teen who killed four students with a gun that his parents had purchased for him in 2021 – even though the young man had pronounced mental health issues which the parents actively ignored.  (They had also declined to take him home just prior to the shooting when school officials had requested they do so.)  Holding parents to account for the actions of their children sounds like something that should be considered every time a student shooter wreaks havoc and carnage in our schools.
 
Law enforcement and the courts both already have substantial powers to rein in gun violence, and they need to be proactive in using those powers relentlessly.