Missouri congressman on Chiefs parade shooting: ‘It’s a sad day for Kansas City’

Rep. Mark Alford (R-Mo.) said Wednesday was a “sad day” for Kansas City, Mo., in the wake of a mass shooting following the victory parade for the Kansas City Chiefs.

“My daughter and son were at the parade — they left before the shooting occurred. It’s a sad day for Kansas City. This was supposed to be a day to celebrate and, and still today we are mourning the loss of one person and others injured,” Alford said on “The Hill on NewsNation.”

“This year ended in tragedy, and and my heart goes out to that community and yes, it is a human violence problem. How do you solve that? That’s a great question,” Alford added.

The shooting after the Chiefs’ Super Bowl parade killed at least one person and left more than 20 injured Wednesday. Among the injured were eight children, police said.

Three people are in custody so far in connection with the shooting, according to police.

Alford noted he was supposed to be at the parade, as well. 

“My daughter and son — we’re all big Chiefs fans. We watched the game together. I was going to be in the parade but we came back to do our work here in Washington today. We just had a moment of silence on the floor,” he said.

He said that the securing the site of the parade would be difficult due to the high number of fans coming to celebrate.

“You got a million people packed into this — basically a punch bowl. It is impossible to secure that area. You cannot run a million people through metal detectors to get in there to celebrate the Chiefs victory,” he said.

Other lawmakers and President Biden issued statements condemning the shooting Wednesday, with many Democrats using it as another reason to call for gun control legislation.

NewsNation is owned by Nexstar, which also owns The Hill.

“The Hill on NewsNation” airs Monday to Friday at 5 p.m. EST