(CNN) — Lisa López-Galván, a Kansas City-area radio DJ, died after being shot celebrating the Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory, her family confirmed Thursday in a statement.
“On behalf of the López-Galván Family we thank the community for their prayers and support during this difficult time. We are heartbroken by the loss of our loved one, Elizabeth “Lisa.” We ask that you please keep our family in your prayers as we mourn the loss of Lisa’s death and at the same time support our other loved ones who were impacted by this senseless act,” said Alberto López, Lisa’s brother.
In a Facebook post, KKFI radio 90.1 FM, the radio station where Lisa worked, also spoke out. “It is with sincere sadness and an extremely heavy and broken heart that we inform our community that KKFI DJ Lisa López-Galván, host of ‘Taste of Tejano,’ lost her life in the shooting at the celebration.”
Police have not provided any details about his death.
“Lisa was one of our programmers/DJs at ‘Taste of Tejano.’ Like all of our employees, she was a volunteer who donated her time and talents to KKFI. Along with her co-producer/her DJ Tommy Andrade, Ella’s show brought a voice to the Kansas City community that the mainstream media will miss,” said Kelly Dougherty, the station’s Director of Development and Communications, in a email to CNN.
“We are absolutely devastated by the loss of such a wonderful person who gave so much to KKFI and the KC community. She simply went to be with the community and celebrate the victory of our beloved Chiefs. It was supposed to be a moment of joy,” Dougherty said.
The president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, sent his condolences to the family of López-Galván, whose parents are Mexican, he said during his morning conference this Thursday.
For her part, the Mexican Foreign Minister, Alicia Bárcena, explained that Lisa died in the hospital while being treated and that a child was injured; She also identified him as the son of Mexicans. Bárcena pointed out that so far it is not known if there are more Mexicans identified as victims. The Mexican consulate in Kansas City joined in condolences to Lisa’s family and friends and made available a telephone number for consultation of Mexicans in case of emergency.
“Music is life and a source of happiness”
López-Galván, 40 years old and who had two children, Marc and Adriana, thought that music “is life and a source of happiness,” according to his biography on the station’s page. She worked as a bilingual private DJ for over 15 years before becoming co-host of “Taste of Tejano” in March 2022. Previously, she had volunteered on the show to help receive donations.
In her profile she also says that for her: “Anyone could mentally escape while listening to their favorite genre. Music can also be a form of therapy.”
Manny Abarca, a Missouri lawmaker who attended the Super Bowl parade with his five-year-old daughter, told CNN that Lisa was his lifelong friend. He said she was a mother who embraced Latin culture while working at the local radio station. “This is such a tragic loss for both our community and his family,” he added.
Abarca told CNN that several of López-Galván’s relatives were among the injured.
Police are investigating a shooting that left one person dead and more than 20 injured at the end of the celebration for the Kansas City Chiefs’ victory in Super Bowl LVIII, causing fans wearing red T-shirts to run, shelter or tend to others on the ground as law enforcement swarmed the area, with confetti still fluttering in the wind.
An estimated one million people had gathered this Wednesday just steps from Union Station in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, for the parade and celebration of the Chiefs’ championship victory. The players were still on stage when chaos erupted with the sound of gunshots. Several people were shot, including children, authorities said.
Three people were detained when officers arrived at the scene, according to Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves, who added that weapons were recovered at the scene, but did not specify how many. As of Wednesday night, no charges had been announced and no suspects had been named.
As the investigation continues, several questions remain unanswered: how many people opened fire during the event? How many shots were fired? And what motivated the violence that turned a day of celebration into a tragedy?
“We do not have a motive, but we ask those who may have any type of information, a witness or a video, to contact the Police,” the Police Chief said at a press conference this Wednesday.
The shooting marked the latest scenario in which Americans saw a sense of security affected by gun violence, following shootings at churches, schools, grocery stores, shopping malls and other places. Wednesday’s violence was at least the 48th mass shooting in the United States so far this year, according to Gun Violence Archivewhich like CNN defines a mass shooting as one in which four or more people are shot, not including the attacker.
With information from Nouran Salahieh.
2024-02-15 16:37:00
#Lisa #LópezGalván #died #shooting #Kansas
