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One Dead, 21 Injured In US Super Bowl Parade Shooting

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One person has died and 21 people were wounded in a shooting in Missouri at the end of the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory parade in the United States.

Officials said they treated eight victims who were in immediately life-threatening condition and seven others who had suffered injuries that could prove life-threatening.

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According to BBC, nine children were among the wounded – all are expected to recover. And, the police said they have arrested three suspects in connection to the shooting.

The shots were fired west of Union Station, the train station in downtown Kansas City, which was where the parade ended at around 14:00 local time (20:00 GMT) and thousands of fans had gathered to watch the festivities.

Local reports said Kansas City Chiefs players were still on a stage there when the first shots rang out.

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The gunfire caused the watching crowd, including the city’s mayor and his family members, to run for cover.

Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves said officers responded immediately after the gunshots broke out and detectives who were on the scene quickly opened an investigation. The Fire Department also sprang to action, administering aid to the injured.

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More than 800 police officers were already on the scene to monitor the parade, officials said. The city’s fire department was also present to provide medical attention if needed.

At a news conference on Wednesday, Chief Graves said a total of 22 people were struck by gunfire – one of whom is dead – and three individuals were arrested.

A local radio station said one of its DJs, Lisa Lopez, was killed in the shooting.

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The surviving victims were transported to three local hospitals, officials said, with the immediately life-threatening cases taken to hospital within 10 minutes of the shooting.

Nine children aged six to 15 with gunshot wounds are being treated at Children’s Mercy Hospital, chief nursing officer Stephanie Meyer said.

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“The one word I would just use to describe what we saw and how they felt when they came to us was fear,” Ms Meyer added.

Local hospitals said they were also treating people who were not shot but who had suffered other injuries in the sudden stampede that followed the shooting.

City officials did not release the names of any of the victims. They also did not share any information about the suspects who were arrested, including what might have led to the shooting.

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A law enforcement source told CBS News, the BBC’s US partner, that the shooting appeared to be the result of an argument that turned violent. The source said it was not terrorism-related.

Police said they are investigating a motive and gathering physical as well as digital evidence. They asked for any witnesses or individuals with information to contact law enforcement.

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A city ‘heartbroken’
The shooting broke out as the city was celebrating a second straight Super Bowl win by the Kansas City Chiefs. But this lesser-known American city was robbed of its exhilarating and unifying moment.

Kansas City’s mayor Quinton Lucas said he was inside the Union Station when he and others heard the sound of gunfire. He and members of his family started running.

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“We went out today like everyone in Kansas City looking to have a celebration,” Mr Lucas said at Wednesday’s news conference.

“I was there with my wife, I was there with my mother. I never would’ve thought that we, along with Chiefs players, along with fans, hundreds of thousands of people, would be forced to run for our safety today.”

In a statement, the Kansas City Chiefs organisation said it was “truly saddened” by Wednesday’s violence. It added that its players, coaches and staff – as well as their families – were accounted for and safe.

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Travis Kelce, the star tight end of the team whose relationship with Taylor Swift became a cultural phenomenon, wrote on social media that he was “heartbroken over the tragedy that took place today.”

READ ALSO: Fight-to-finish: Israel Deploys New Military AI In Gaza War

Marquez Valdes-Scantling, a wide receiver for the Chiefs, also took to social media after the tragedy. He said he wanted to get in touch with the young victims of the shooting.

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“I want to make sure they’re doing ok,” Mr Valdes-Scantling said. “But would love to help them out any way I can and get them some stuff from the team to help with the recovery.”

The mayor emphasised that the city had security measures in place, and it should make the public think deeply about a path forward. Despite hundreds of law enforcement present, he said, this incident still occurred due to the presence of bad actors with guns.

In a statement, US President Joe Biden also reflected on the issue of gun violence in the country.

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Today’s events should move us, shock us, shame us into action,” he said, as he called for gun reform and a ban on assault rifles in the US.

BBC

 

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Family Of Five Killed In Iranian Missile Strike After Fleeing Ukraine For Safety In Israel

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A Ukrainian family of five who fled Russia’s war in search of safety were killed in Israel by an Iranian missile — the very conflict they thought they had escaped.

Mariia Pieshkurova had brought her 7-year-old daughter, Anastasiia, to Bat Yam, a suburb of Tel Aviv, hoping to get lifesaving cancer treatment and refuge from the violence at home.

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Along with Anastasiia’s grandmother, Olena Sokolova, and two young cousins, Illia and Kostiantyn, they had started over — believing they were finally safe.

But on June 15, an Iranian missile tore through their apartment building during a retaliatory strike on Israel, killing them all.

“I really thought they’d be safe,” said Artem Buryk, Anastasiia’s father and Mariia’s former partner. “I never thought they’d go to Israel to escape war — and find it there.”

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The missile attack, part of Iran’s response to Israeli airstrikes on its territory, collapsed much of the building in Bat Yam.

It took four days to recover Mariia’s body from the rubble.

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Their deaths marked a heartbreaking intersection of two wars — Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Iran’s conflict with Israel — both of which had already tested the family’s will to survive.

Mariia had moved to Israel in late 2022 after Anastasiia was diagnosed with leukemia.

Ukraine’s hospitals were overwhelmed, and its largest children’s hospital was later destroyed in a missile strike.

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In Israel, treatment began immediately. It was effective but costly. Mariia turned to Instagram, sharing photos of her daughter in treatment and videos of Artem pleading for help while serving on Ukraine’s front lines.

READ ALSO:Israel-Iran War: Stranded Nigerians Cry For Help From Underground Shelters

“Masha did everything for her little girl,” said Anastasiia’s godmother, Khrytsyna Chanysheva. “She dedicated her life to her, moved to Israel to get her full treatment.”

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Despite the pain, Anastasiia always smiled at visitors.

“She was in pain, and she would close her eyes for a second,” said charity worker Lada Fichkovsi. “But every time I walked into her room, she would smile.”

Her cousins joined the family in May 2024 as the situation in Odesa deteriorated.

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“The shelling made my children cry,” said Hanna Pieshkurova, Mariia’s sister. “I decided to let them go.”

Though Israel was at war with Hamas, Mariia had assured her sister that Bat Yam was calm. Air raid sirens were rare, and the Iron Dome defense system offered hope.

READ ALSO:Iran Nabs 22 Suspected Israeli Spies Amidst Escalating Conflict

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“Ukrainians often say, ‘This is not Ukraine, it’s not as scary,’” said Inna Bakhareva of Chance4Life, a charity helping sick children in Israel. “They felt secure due to the Iron Dome.”

That sense of security evaporated after Israel struck Iranian targets on June 12. Iran retaliated with missile attacks across Israeli cities.

“Dad, at night I saw how the missiles were falling,” Anastasiia told her father in a voice message the night before she died.

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She and her mother had been scheduled to visit the hospital the next morning. The missile struck before dawn.

Mr. Buryk, who had just returned from the front lines near Sumy, received the news that same day.

“I still don’t understand what’s happening,” he said. “I still can’t believe it.”

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He used to promise Anastasiia they’d go fishing together when peace returned.

“Every time I talked to her, I’d say, ‘Sweetheart, we’ll go fishing. Just us,’” he said. “And now I just don’t understand. I still don’t even grasp that she’s gone.”

“Last night,” he added quietly, “I sent her voice messages.”

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(New York Times)

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Militia Attack On DRC IDP Camp, Kills 10, Mostly Women, Children

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An armed group at the centre of a long-running ethnic conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s northeast attacked a camp for displaced people on Friday, killing 10, local sources told AFP.

Bordering Uganda, Ituri province has for years been the scene of pitched battles between the Lendu, a group mainly made up of settled farmers, and the Hema people, typically nomadic herders.

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The fighting has led to the deaths of thousands of civilians and the mass displacement of many more.

Friday’s assault on the Djangi displaced persons camp was carried out by the self-proclaimed Cooperative for the Development of Congo (Codeco), a Lendu-aligned militia responsible for previous civilian massacres, the camp’s head told AFP.

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They were many and armed with firearms and machetes. They surprised us, they killed 10 displaced people, most of them women and children,” said Richard Likana.

An employee of the Red Cross, who asked to remain anonymous, confirmed the attack, which took place around 60 kilometres (37 miles) from Bunia.

They were cut up with machetes while others were shot,” the humanitarian worker added.

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Congolese army Colonel Ruffin Mapela, the local administrator for Djugu territory where the camp is located, gave the same toll of 10 dead and put the number of injured at 15.

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According to local and humanitarian sources, Codeco was responsible for an attack on February 10 which killed 51 people in Ituri province. Most of the victims were also displaced persons.

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That raid was said to be a response to a strike by the rival Hema-led Zaire militia in the same area.

Violence between the Hema and Lendu killed thousands in gold-rich Ituri from 1999-2003, which only ended after European forces intervened.

The conflict erupted again in 2017, killing thousands more.

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The violence has led to more than 1.5 million people leaving their homes, according to the UN.

AFP

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Israel Wants Global Action Against Iran’s Nuclear Plans

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Israel’s foreign minister said on Friday that the world was obliged to stop Iran from developing an atomic bomb, days after Israel claimed it had “thwarted Iran’s nuclear project” in a 12-day war.

Israel acted at the last possible moment against an imminent threat to itself, the region, and the international community,” Gideon Saar wrote on X.

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The international community must now prevent, by any effective means, the world’s most extreme regime from obtaining the most dangerous weapon.”

READ ALSO:Netanyahu Vows To Thwart ‘Any Attempt’ By Iran To Rebuild Nuclear Programme

Israel and Iran each claimed victory in the war that ended with a ceasefire on June 24.

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The conflict erupted on June 13 when Israel launched a bombing campaign, stating it aimed to stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapon—an ambition Iran has consistently denied.

Following waves of Israeli attacks on nuclear and military sites, the United States bombed three key facilities, with President Donald Trump insisting it had set Iran’s nuclear programme back by “decades”.

READ ALSO:We Would Have Killed Iran’s Supreme Leader If Given Opportunity – Israel

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in an address to the nation after the ceasefire, announced that “we have thwarted Iran’s nuclear project”.

However, there is no consensus as to how effective the strikes were.
On Friday, Iran rejected a request by UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi to visit the bombed facilities, saying it suggested “malign intent”.

The comments from Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi came after parliament approved a bill suspending cooperation with the UN watchdog.

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In a post on X following the move, Saar said Iran “continues to mislead the international community and actively works to prevent effective oversight of its nuclear programme”.

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