UPDATE: 2 Juveniles Charged in Mass Shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl Parade
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Two juveniles have been charged with crimes connected to the shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl rally, authorities said Friday.
A news release from the Jackson County Family Court said the juveniles are being detained in the county’s Juvenile Detention Center “on gun-related and resisting arrest charges.” The release said it is “anticipated that additional charges are expected in the future as the investigation by the Kansas City Police Department continues.”
No further information was released. Defendants age 17 and under in Missouri are typically adjudicated through the juvenile system, which is far more private than the system for adults. Names of the accused are not released, nor are police documents such as probable cause statements.
In cases involving serious crimes such as murder, juveniles as young as 12 can be certified for trial as adults, said Lynn Urban, a professor who chairs the Criminal Justice and Criminology Department at the University of Central Missouri.
Federal law prohibits the death penalty for anyone under age 18 at the time of the crime.
(Additional reporting...)
Gun Rights Are Expansive in Missouri, Where Shooting at Chiefs' Super Bowl Parade Took Place
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The shooting that killed one person and wounded nearly two dozen more during the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl victory parade occurred in a state with few gun regulations and historic tension over how major cities handle crime.
The shooting, which Kansas City police say appeared to stem from a dispute between several people, happened despite the presence of more than 800 police officers on hand.
Notably, dozens of policymakers from Missouri and neighboring Kansas were caught in the chaos as throngs of fans scattered at the sound of gunshots. Lawmakers and elected officials who witnessed the havoc firsthand included Republican Missouri Gov. Mike Parson and Democratic Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, whose security detail heard the shots after she got in her car to leave, a spokesperson said.
Missouri state Rep. Emily Weber, a Democrat who represents the area, said Friday that she rushed into a bathroom at the city's historic Union Station when the shooting occurred.
“To experience this day of horror as it happened in my own district only reaffirms my belief that Missouri needs common sense gun safety laws more than ever,” Weber said in a statement. “Missouri’s lax gun laws turned what was supposed to be a day of triumph into a day of tragedy.”
But what action Missouri's Republican-led Legislature may take, if any, in response to the shooting is unclear.
“Policing a free nation is difficult,” GOP state Rep. Lane Roberts said Thursday. “So when we try to do things that augment the efforts of our police agencies without treading on the rights of other people, it can be a real difficult balance.”
Here's a look at Missouri's gun policies and how elected officials want to address crime:
A PRO-GUN STATE
Missouri has some of the most expansive guns rights among states as a result of a series of measures passed by the Republican-led Legislature over the past few decades.
Before the GOP won full control of the Legislature in the 2002 elections, concealed weapons were outlawed and handguns could be purchased only after a background check and permit from local sheriffs. Republican lawmakers repealed those restrictions within their first decade of power, and gun shops saw rising sales.
Missouri currently has no age restrictions on gun use and possession, although federal law largely prohibits minors from carrying handguns.
Voters fortified gun rights in 2014, approving a constitutional amendment placed on the ballot by lawmakers making the right to bear arms “unalienable” and subjecting any restrictions “to strict scrutiny.”
Two years later, the Republican supermajority in Missouri’s Legislature overrode a veto of then-Gov. Jay Nixon, a Democrat, to allow most adults to carry concealed guns without needing a permit. The legislation also created a “stand-your-ground” right, expanding the legal use of guns in self-defense.
A 2021 Missouri law pressed gun rights even further, prohibiting local police from enforcing federal gun restrictions. The measure got struck down by a federal judge last year and remains on hold while under appeal.
WHAT ARE LAWMAKERS DOING?
Current Republican legislative leaders have expressed little interest in any laws that would restrict firearm use and possession in Missouri.Rep. Roberts — a former police chief from southwestern Missouri who later joined the Legislature — last year proposed limiting children from openly carrying guns in public without parental supervision in an effort to combat rising crime in St. Louis. The bill failed by a 104-39 vote. Only one Republican voted in support of it.Republican House Speaker Dean Plocher abruptly left a news conference Thursday after being asked by reporters for details on the GOP strategy for addressing crime and when questioned about last year's vote on children carrying firearms.A rare exception to Republicans' fierce resistance to gun regulations is an effort to crack down on celebratory gunfire, which has been an issue in Kansas City.Missouri’s Legislature last year passed a bill to make shooting a firearm within city limits a misdemeanor for the first offense, with exceptions. The bill was named after 11-year-old Blair Shanahan Lane, who was dancing with a sparkler on July 4, 2011, outside her suburban Kansas City home and was struck in the neck by a stray bullet.Blair’s Law was part of a sweeping crime bill that was later vetoed by Parson for unrelated reasons. The Missouri House gave approval to similar legislation just two days before the Chiefs' parade.Other Republican-backed bills advancing in the House would exempt guns and ammunition from sales tax and allow people with concealed gun permits to bring weapons onto public transportation. House Majority Leader Jonathan Patterson said earlier this week that “it’s common sense to allow lawful concealed carrying permit holders to be able to protect themselves” on buses and trains.
A BROADER DEBATE
A large portion of the Kansas City metropolitan area is in Kansas, and a 43-year-old prominent DJ who was killed Wednesday lived on the Kansas side.The most visible and active gun safety movement in Kansas is in the Kansas City area. But Kansas law favors gun rights as much as Missouri's does, and Kansas added an amendment to fortify gun rights in its constitution four years before Missouri did — with 88% of the vote. Now, Republican state Attorney General Kris Kobach and a majority of the state's GOP lawmakers are pushing for another amendment to make those protections even stronger.“ Having armed citizens affords a greater degree of protection in any situation,” Kobach told reporters Thursday. “We need good citizens to be armed, to help, because there just aren’t enough law enforcement officers to protect everybody, everywhere and every time. ”During a hearing last month before a House committee, critics predicted the change would prevent the state from prohibiting even convicted felons or domestic abusers from having guns.“That's the really scary part of it,” said Rep. Jo Ella Hoye, a Kansas City-area Democrat who was at the parade with her 11-year-old son. “We could lose any current gun laws we have.”
GUNS AND CRIME IN KANSAS CITY
The number of killings in Kansas City rose to a record level last year, up to 182. Kansas City police data show there were 12 more killings in 2023 than in 2022 and three more than the previous all-time high of 179 in 2020. The police department data does not include officer-involved killings.Kansas City elected officials are limited in what they can do.Kansas City, with a population of about 508,000, about 28% Black, is the only Missouri city without local control of its police force. It’s believed to be the largest city in the U.S. in that situation, the mayor's office has said.Leaders in the largely Democratic city don't hire the police chief or determine how the department spends its tax dollars. A 1930s-era law gives that power to a five-member board largely appointed by the Missouri governor, who since 2017 has been a Republican.Missouri law also prohibits cities from enacting more stringent regulations on guns than state law does, although Kansas City bans gunfire within the city.In recent years, mayors of both Kansas City and St. Louis have fought for control of their cities' public safety policies with primarily Republican lawmakers who argue high crime rates in the cities mean local leaders are failing. GOP lawmakers have also repeatedly rebuffed requests to allow urban areas to adopt stricter gun policies compared to the rest of the state.
Taylor Swift Gives $100,000 to Family of Woman Killed in Chiefs Parade Shooting
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Taylor Swift has donated $100,000 to the family of Lisa Lopez-Galvan, the woman killed in the shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory parade. Two $50,000 donations were posted Friday under the singer’s name on a GoFundMe page. Swift’s representative confirmed the donations to Variety, the trade publication reported, and The Associated Press independently verified the posts. The 43-year-old Lopez-Galvan was shot Wednesday as she celebrated the Chiefs’ Super Bowl win with her husband, young adult son and an estimated 1 million fans at the city’s Union Station. Twenty-two others were wounded in the shooting.
Taylor Swift donated the money to the family of Lisa Lopez-Galvan, the woman killed in the shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl victory parade. Two $50,000 donations were posted Friday under the singer's name on a GoFundMe page. Swift’s representative confirmed the donations to Variety, the trade publication reported, and The Associated Press independently verified the posts. “Sending my deepest sympathies and condolences in the wake of your devastating loss. With love, Taylor Swift,” read the messages accompanying the posts.
Lopez-Galvan, 43, was shot Wednesday as she celebrated the Chiefs' Super Bowl win with her husband, young adult son and hundreds of thousands of other fans at the city's Union Station. Lopez-Galvan hosted “Taste of Tejano” on local radio station KKFI-FM, as Lisa G. The mother of two had deep roots in Kansas City, and was one of the few Latina DJs in the area. “She was an amazing mother, wife, daughter, sister, aunt, cousin, and friend to so many. We ask that you continue to keep her family in your prayers as we grieve the loss of her life,” the GoFundMe description reads. The fundraised had amassed over $200,000 as of Friday morning.
Twenty-two others, half of whom were under 16, were wounded in the shooting. Investigators are still trying to identify who is responsible, but say a dispute may have led to the shooting. Police have two juveniles in custody and are trying to determine whether others were involved.
Swift, who is dating Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and attended Sunday's Super Bowl, was not at Wednesday's parade. She's currently performing a series of shows in Melbourne, Australia, as part of her Eras tour. The Chiefs said all players, coaches, staffers and their families were safe and accounted for after the shooting.
KC Police: Dispute May Have Led to Mass Shooting Following Chiefs' Super Bowl Parade
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Police say the shooting that left one person dead and nearly two dozen injured after the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade appeared to stem from a dispute between several people. Police Chief Stacey Graves said Thursday that the 22 injured people ranged in age from 8 to 47 years old, with half of them were under the age of 16. A mother of two was killed. Police say they detained three juveniles but released one who they determined wasn’t involved, leaving two in custody. Investigators are asking for witnesses and victims to call a dedicated hotline. The shooting outside the city's historic Union Station happened despite the presence of more than 800 police officers.
The mass shooting that unfolded amid throngs of people at the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl celebration, killing one person and wounding almost two dozen others, appeared to stem from a dispute between several people, authorities said Thursday. Police Chief Stacey Graves said the 22 people injured Wednesday ranged between 8 and 47 years old, with half under 16. A mother of two was killed.
Police said they detained three juveniles but released one who they determined wasn't involved in the shooting, leaving two in custody. Police are looking for others who may have been involved and are calling for witnesses, victims and people with cellphone video of the violence to call a dedicated hotline. "We are working to determine the involvement of others. And it should be noted we have recovered several firearms. This incident is still a very active investigation,” Graves said at a news conference.
The shooting outside Union Station occurred despite the presence of more than 800 police officers who were in the building and area, including on top of nearby structures, said Mayor Quinton Lucas, who attended with his wife and mother and ran for safety when the shots were fired. But he doesn't expect to cancel the upcoming St. Patrick’s Day parade. “We have parades all the time. I don’t think they’ll end. Certainly we recognized the public safety challenges and issues that relate to them,” Lucas said. Wednesday’s celebration was the third such parade since 2020, and the others had no violence.
People packed the parade route, with fans climbing trees and street poles for a better view. Players rolled through on double-decker buses as DJs and drummers heralded their arrival.
Video taken from a building overlooking the celebration shows thousands of fans clad in red Chiefs gear milling about in a park in front of Union Station. As shots ring out and repeat, they suddenly scatter amid screams.
Some of those who flee return to help people on a street, sidewalk and grassy area. People nearby continue to scatter frantically even after the gunfire stops, but fans farther away remain, apparently not sure of what has happened.
The police chief said 1 million people likely attended the parade, which occurred in a city of about 470,000 people and a metropolitan area of about 2 million, but stressed that the violence was wrought by just a handful of people. "The law enforcement response was exemplary. Those in attendance also responded," Graves added.
Among them was Trey Filter, who was walking to the car with his family when he heard yells of “get him.” Filter, 40, saw a fleeing person, prompting him and another bystander to try to tackle him. Filter eventually jumped on top of the person. “I don’t know what the hell I was thinking,” the owner of an asphalt and concrete company recalled. “We was like, ‘We got him.’ I’ll always remember that. And then they started screaming, 'There’s a gun!’” The gun fell near his wife, Casey Filter, who picked it up. At that point the fleeing person was under a dogpile about 10 feet away.
Trey Filter, who lives outside Wichita, Kansas, was still processing the melee Thursday. But he was glad there wasn’t more carnage. "I’m sure there were a thousand other men there that would have done it,” he said. Police didn’t identify Filter as a man who intervened or specifically say whether the person he tackled was a suspect.
Wednesday's rally had just ended and music was still blaring when the shots erupted. Many people initially thought they were hearing fireworks. But then chaos ensued. Some in the crowd hit the ground while others leapt over barriers and sprinted, some carrying children in their arms.
The crowd was so massive that normalcy returned quickly, with some unsure what had happened. But then ambulances arrived, and officers rushed in with guns drawn. Some of the less seriously injured were driven away on golf carts.
The stunned crowd — some in tears — slowly gathered their belongings, trying to figure out how to get home. Strangers comforted each other as police put up crime scene tape where moments earlier there had been a joyous celebration.
Hank Hunter, a Kansas high school sophomore, said he heard shots in the distance while watching the rally with a friend. Initially, they didn’t know what it was, but then, “like a chain reaction,” people started hitting the ground.
They ran to jump over a barricade, and his friend slammed his head into the concrete, Hunter said. A security guard ushered his friend into Union Station, which was closed to the general public, as the Chiefs players and coaches prepared to leave on buses. There, coach Andy Reid consoled his friend and “just tried to comfort him and calm him down.”
One video of the shooting's aftermath that was posted on social media showed someone apparently performing chest compressions on a victim as another, seemingly writhing in pain, lay on the ground nearby. People screamed in the background.
The slain woman was identified by radio station KKFI-FM as Lisa Lopez-Galvan, host of “Taste of Tejano.” Lopez-Galvan, whose DJ name was “Lisa G,” was an extrovert and devoted mother from a prominent Latino family in the area, said Rosa Izurieta and Martha Ramirez, two childhood friends who worked with her at a staffing company. “She's the type of person who would jump in front of a bullet for anybody — that would be Lisa,” Izurieta said.
Kansas City has long struggled with gun violence, and in 2020 it was among nine cities targeted by the U.S. Justice Department in an effort to crack down on violent crime. In 2023, the city matched a record with 182 homicides, most of which involved guns.
University Health Truman Medical Center reported that three people with gunshot wounds were still being treated there Thursday, including two in critical condition. One was a man who survived only because staff got him to the operating room within five minutes of arrival, Dr. Dustin Neel said.
St. Luke’s Hospital spokesperson Emily Hohenberg said one gunshot victim was upgraded from critical to serious condition.
Children’s Mercy Kansas City said three children remained there. It had received 11 children ages 6 to 15, nine of whom were shot. All were expected to recover.
Stephanie Meyer, the hospital's chief nursing officer, said Thursday that the children are scared and will need mental health support. The hospital's staff members are also struggling. “They’re struggling just like you and I are, and unbelievably heartbroken that this has happened in our backyard,” said Dr. Stephanie Burrus, the hospital's chief wellbeing officer. “And we all train for this, we’re all prepared to take care of these children. But it doesn’t negate the fact that it’s still not normal for people to see many, many people wounded by gunshots.”
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Kansas City's Union Station Reopens Following Shooting
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCUR) – Kansas City's Union Station reopened Friday, after a Herculean clean-up effort. KCUR reports that a half-size street cleaner swept up confetti in front of the main entrance to Union Station. On the west end of the station, crews loaded up the stage and speakers. The entire property was sealed off as a crime scene until around 1:30 Thursday afternoon, and nobody was allowed past the huge perimeter A couple of hours later, tons of trash had already been hauled off by the city. Union Station says the city has pop up tents at the southeast corner of Washington Square Park to reclaim personal belongings left behind by those who fled the gunfire.
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Attorney General Kris Kobach, Law Enforcement Calling for New Method of Execution in Kansas
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) — Law enforcement officials and families of murder victims joined Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach Thursday to call for a new execution method in the state. The Kansas News Service reports that the method, called hypoxia, deprives people of oxygen using nitrogen or other gas until they go unconscious and eventually die. Proponents say hypoxia is more humane than other methods, but critics say it’s cruel and experimental. Lethal injection is currently the only legal form of execution in Kansas, but Kobach says the drugs used in lethal injection are nearly impossible to obtain. "Consequently, in a way, we are lying to the people of Kansas if we say that we have the death penalty but we actually can’t carry out an execution,” he added.
However, opponents to the method are also speaking up on the issue. Chuck Weber of the Kansas Catholic Conference said, “...it does not appear to be swift nor humane, based on the very small sample we have right now.” Lethal injection is currently the only legal method of execution in Kansas. The state has nine inmates on death row but hasn't carried out any executions for decades. So far, three states have legalized hypoxia executions. Alabama became the first state to perform a hypoxia execution last month.
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Kansas House Committee Threatens Funding for Department of Wildlife and Parks
UNDATED (KNS) — A Kansas House committee appears to be following through on a lawmaker’s threat to defund the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks over deer baiting rules. The bill would require the wildlife department to provide full refunds to out-of-state hunters if they apply for a deer permit and are not awarded one. The permits are awarded through a lottery that hunters have to pay $200 to enter. Secretary Brad Loveless says refunding those fees to people who don't get a permit would cost the department $7 million a year. “This will have a very, very significant impact on all of our fish and wildlife programs,” he explained. Republican Representative Lewis Bloom, who is on the committee, had threatened the department’s budget for considering a ban on people baiting deer with piles of food.
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Kansas Republican Lawmakers Want to Create Rating System for Public School Library Books
WICHITA, Kan. (KNS) — Public school libraries in Kansas would have to adopt a rating system for books under a bill proposed by Republican lawmakers. The bill would establish a nine-member task force to come up with the rating system. Supporters say it’s needed because local school boards aren’t responding to parent concerns about offensive materials in libraries. Kristy Oborney, a school librarian in Hays, says a rating system would undercut librarians and violate children’s freedom to read. “A rating system would be putting subjective value judgements on literature. So a small group of people would be telling others what they believe a piece of literature would be rated as,” she explained. Texas lawmakers passed a book rating system last year in an effort to keep sexually explicit materials out of school libraries.
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Kansas Legislature Considers Statehouse Memorial for Father Emil Kapaun
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) — Kansas lawmakers are considering establishing a memorial for Father Emil Kapaun at the Statehouse. The Kansas News Service reports that Kapaun was a Catholic priest from Kansas who served as a chaplain in the U.S. Army. He was captured during the Korean War after refusing to leave wounded soldiers behind. Kapaun provided comfort and spiritual guidance to other prisoners of war for seven months before dying in captivity. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor in 2013 and is under consideration for sainthood by the Catholic Church. The statue at the Kansas Capitol would be funded through gifts and donations, not public dollars.
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Nitrate Levels Likely on the Rise in Small-Town Kansas Drinking Water Supplies
LIBERAL, Kan. (KNS) – The southwest Kansas town of Satanta is the latest to be notified by the state of high amounts of nitrate in its drinking water. From Haviland in 2022 to Great Bend in 2016, small towns in Kansas are particularly at risk of nitrate contamination from unregulated fertilizers used on crops that seep into the groundwater. Matthew Kirk, geology professor at Kansas State University, has studied water quality issues in Kansas. He says Kansas has seen an increase in nitrate levels since the ‘80s, adding that “...the results showed that nitrate concentrations in those wells had increased dramatically, really big increase.” Health agencies say high nitrate levels in water can lead to low oxygen levels in the blood of babies, increased heart rate and abdominal pain.
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Alaska Woman Gets 99 Years for Orchestrating "Catfished" Murder-for-Hire Plot in Friend's Death
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — An Anchorage woman has been sentenced to 99 years in prison for orchestrating the death of a developmentally disabled woman in a murder-for-hire plot, hoping to cash in on a $9 million offer from a Midwestern man purporting to be a millionaire.
Denali Dakota Skye Brehmer, 24, was sentenced by Anchorage Superior Court Judge Andrew Peterson earlier this week in the 2019 death of her friend Cynthia Hoffman, whose death was captured in in photos and video near Thunderbird Falls, a popular trail area just north of Anchorage. Brehmer pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in February 2023. “She may not have pulled the trigger, but this never would have happened it if it weren’t for Denali Brehmer,” Anchorage assistant district attorney Patrick McKay said during sentencing.
Peterson said Hoffman’s pre-mediated murder-for-hire was “tragic and senseless,” and that Brehmer showed no remorse. He said he hoped her sentence would serve as a deterrent to others.
Defense attorneys sought an 80-year sentence with 20 of those years suspended. Alaska does not have the death penalty.
Darin Schilmiller of New Salisbury, Indiana, was also sentenced last month to 99 years in prison for his role in Hoffman’s murder.
Authorities in 2019 said Schilmiller posed online as “Tyler,” a millionaire from Kansas when starting an online relationship with Brehmer. About three weeks before Hoffman was killed, Brehmer and Schilmiller discussed a plan to rape and murder someone in Alaska, according to court documents.
The millionaire’s only demand for payment was either photos or video of the killing.
Brehmer agreed to the offer, and enlisted the help of four friends, Caleb Leyland and Kayden McIntosh, along with two unnamed juveniles.
Leyland will be sentenced in June. McIntosh, whom prosecutors have said was the gunman, will be tried as an adult in the case even though he was 16 when Hoffman was killed. His case is pending trial.
According to court documents, the group took Hoffman to Thunderbird Falls. They went off trail and followed a path to the Eklutna River, where Hoffman was bound with duct tape, shot in the back of the head and thrown into the river. Officials said Brehmer then texted Hoffman’s family to let them know they dropped her off at an Anchorage park.
Brehmer was eventually arrested, and once she realized she had been catfished or tricked by Schilmiller, she told authorities that she had been solicited by him.
Schilmiller admitted to federal agents and the Indiana State Police that he chose Hoffman as the victim and told Brehmer to kill her, court documents said.
He said Brehmer communicated with him throughout Hoffman’s killing and sent Snapchat photos and videos of Hoffman while bound and after she was killed.
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Travis Kelce Says He Shouldn't Have Bumped Chiefs Coach Andy Reid During Super Bowl
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce says he went too far when he bumped into coach Andy Reid and screamed at him during the Super Bowl. Kelce addressed the situation on the podcast he co-hosts with his brother, longtime Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce. During the second quarter of the Super Bowl last Sunday, quarterback Patrick Mahomes completed a long pass to Mecole Hardman and Reid took Kelce out of the game for the next play. The play resulted in a fumble by Isiah Pacheco that San Francisco recovered, setting Travis Kelce off. Jason Kelce says his brother "crossed a line."
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Former KU Basketball Star and NBA Champion Scot Pollard Receives Heart Transplant
UNDATED (AP) – NBA champion and “Survivor” contestant Scot Pollard has had a heart transplant, his wife said on social media on Friday night.
“Scot has a new heart!” Dawn Pollard posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Surgery went well and I’ve been told the heart is big, powerful and is a perfect fit! Now on to the crucial part of recovery. Thank you to everyone for the continued prayers and support, but most of all, deepest thanks to the donor, our hero.”
Pollard, who turned 49 on Monday, needed a transplant because of damage to his heart from a virus he caught in 2021 that likely triggered a genetic condition he has known about since it killed his father at 54, when Scot was 16. Pollard’s size complicated efforts to find a donor with a heart big enough to fit his 6-foot-11, 260-pound body.
Earlier Friday, Dawn Pollard posted that a heart had been found.
“It’s go time!” she posted on X. “Please keep the prayers coming for Scot, the surgeons, for the donor and his family who lost their loved one. This donor gave the most amazing gift of life and we are forever grateful.”
A 1997 first-round draft pick after helping Kansas reach the NCAA Sweet 16 in four straight seasons, Pollard was a useful big man off the bench for much of an NBA career that stretched over 11 years and five teams. He played 55 seconds in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ trip to the NBA Finals in 2007, and won it all the following year with the Celtics despite a season-ending ankle injury in February.
Pollard retired after that season, then dabbled in broadcasting and acting. He was a contestant on the 32nd season of “Survivor,” where he was voted out on Day 27 with eight castaways remaining.
Pollard went public with his condition last month began the process of listing himself at transplant centers. He was admitted to intensive care at Vanderbilt University Medical Center on February 7.
“I’m staying here until I get a heart,” he said in a text message to The Associated Press from his Nashville, Tennessee, hospital room. “My heart got weaker. (Doctors) agree this is my best shot at getting a heart quicker.”
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