Three Kansas City men have been charged with illegal firearms trafficking and straw purchases of firearms connected to the mass shooting at the Chiefs Super Bowl victory celebration.
One person was killed and more than 20 people were injured when the shooting happened at Union Station on Feb. 14.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Missouri announced Wednesday that authorities connected two firearms recovered at the scene to Fedo Antonia Manning, 22, who was charged in a 12-count federal complaint, and Ronnel Dewayne Williams, Jr., 21, and Chaelyn Hendrick Groves, 19, who were charged in a separate 4-count federal complaint.
"These cases underscore the importance of enforcing federal firearms laws," U.S. Attorney Teresa Moore said in a statement. "Stopping straw buyers and preventing illegal firearms trafficking is our first line of defense against gun violence. At least two of the firearms recovered from the scene of the mass shooting at Union Station were illegally purchased or trafficked.
According to court documents, 12 individuals brandished firearms and at least six individuals fired their weapons. The Kansas City, Mo., Police Department recovered several firearms, spent shell casings, and other items of evidentiary value from the scene.
According to the first complaint, Manning, who is not a licensed firearms dealer, allegedly purchased dozens of firearms. 15 firearms originally purchased by Manning were recovered by law enforcement in the possession of others. Several were banned from even owing guns.
The firearm recovered from the scene of the mass shooting at Union Station is one of seven firearms originally purchased by Manning that have been recovered during investigations of crimes, prosecutors said.
Manning also allegedly was the straw purchaser of seven guns that were later sold to a confidential informant during a separate federal criminal investigation.
One of the firearms recovered from the scene of the shooting was an Anderson Manufacturing AM-15 .223-caliber pistol. The loaded pistol was found along the wall with a backpack next to two AR-15-style firearms and backpacks. Because the pistol was in "fire" position and there were 26 live rounds in the magazine, which is capable of holding 30 rounds, it may have fired several rounds before it was discarded.
According to an affidavit filed in support of the federal criminal complaint, the AM-15 pistol was purchased by Manning from Frontier Justice in Lee's Summit, Mo., on Aug. 7, 2022. The affidavit alleges that Manning illegally trafficked dozens of firearms, including many Anderson Manufacturing AM-15 firearms.
The second firearm recovered from the scene of the mass shooting was a Stag Arms 300-caliber pistol. According to an affidavit filed in the second federal criminal complaint, the pistol was purchased by Williams from The Ammo Box during a gun show at the KCI Expo Center on Nov. 25, 2023. Williams allegedly purchased the firearm for Groves, who accompanied him to the gun show but was too young to legally purchase the firearm himself.
The federal criminal complaints do not claim that Manning, Williams, or Groves were at the shooting scene.
