Lawsuit Alleges "Systemic Failures" Behind 2024 Super Bowl Rally Shooting
Action Demands Safety Standards for Future Celebrations
Stueve Siegel Hanson has filed a lawsuit against a number of parties involved in the February 14, 2024 shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl celebration, describing the incident as “not simply the result of reckless violence,” but a “preventable calamity, borne of systemic failures and negligence from the top down.”
The lawsuit, filed June 2, 2025 in the Circuit Court of Jackson County, Missouri, is filed on behalf of nine victims, including one adult and three children wounded by gunfire. It names four primary sets of defendants, with specific causes of action for each:
- Criminal defendants, including the men who fired into the crowd and the individuals who procured guns for them: assault, battery and negligence;
- Firearm sellers, including Frontier Justice and The Ammo Box: negligent entrustment and negligence;
- Premises defendants, including Union Station and the City of Kansas City, Missouri: negligence and premises liability; and
- Event planning defendants, including the Greater Kansas City Sports Commission and its vendors: negligence and premises liability.
According to the lawsuit, this group’s collective negligence created a series of events that resulted in the plaintiffs’ injuries. The firearm sellers engaged in transactions they should have known were “straw purchases” for underaged persons who were not legally allowed to buy guns. The premises and event planning defendants failed to adequately plan security and take reasonable crowd control measures, such as those implemented for Kansas City’s hosting of the 2023 NFL Draft. Finally – and tragically – the shooting defendants fired into a crowd of rally attendees.
Their bullets struck four of the lawsuit’s plaintiffs, including three children who suffered severe, permanent and progressive injuries that will require ongoing medical care. All of the plaintiffs have experienced significant emotional trauma. The lawsuit seeks compensation for medical expenses and punitive damages.
In addition to pursuing compensation for the plaintiffs, the lawsuit asks the court for an injunction requiring “reasonable, industry-standard safety measures” at future rallies, including:
- The use of third-party security consultants who specialize in mass event security;
- Advance communication to the public about potential risks, evacuation and exit plans, and prohibited items;
- A spectator management plan, including ticketing systems and crowd management;
- A clear bag policy;
- One or more security checkpoints;
- Physical security barriers; and
- Security equipment to stop entry of prohibited items.
“While the terror of February 14 was perpetrated by young men with pistols and short-barreled rifles, responsibility for the shooting does not lie solely with them,” said Patrick Stueve of Stueve Siegel Hanson. “This tragedy was also the result of negligence at multiple levels. We are pursuing this action not only to advocate for the victims of this tragedy, but to hold all parties accountable and to ensure safer celebrations for our community moving forward.”
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