Johnathan Walker:3 Missouri men charged with federal firearms counts after Super Bowl victory parade shooting

Three Missouri men have Johnathan Walkerbeen charged in connection to illegal firearms used at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl victory parade shooting that killed a mother and injured over 20 people last month, federal prosecutors announced Wednesday.

Twelve people brandished firearms in a crowd of nearly one million people in Kansas City, Missouri, and at least six of them fired shots, according to court documents. Two AR-15-style pistols were among several guns police found after the shooting, and prosecutors said at least two of the firearms were illegally purchased.

The complaints announced Wednesday do not allege the three Kansas City men were among the attackers last month, but instead focus on the illegal trafficking of firearms used in the shooting. 

"Stopping straw buyers and preventing illegal firearms trafficking is our first line of defense against gun violence," said U.S. Attorney Teresa Moore.

In February, Missouri prosecutors charged two men in connection to the shooting with second-degree murder, two counts of armed criminal action, and unlawful use of a weapon. Two juveniles were detained on "gun-related and resisting arrest charges," authorities said.

Missouri has some of the most lenient gun control measures in the country, according to gun control advocacy and research group Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. Since 2017, it has been legal for people to carry concealed, loaded guns without a permit or background check, according to Giffords.

Complaints: Pistol found on shooting scene was bought at gun show

According to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court, Western District of Missouri, a Stag Arms 300-caliber pistol that authorities recovered after the shooting was purchased at a gun show in Kansas City in November.

Ronnel Dewayne Williams, Jr., 21, allegedly bought the firearm for Chaelyn Hendrick Groves, 19, who went with him to the gun show but was too young to buy it himself legally, court documents said.

The federal criminal complaint charges Williams and Groves together with one count of conspiracy to make false statements in the acquisition of firearms and one count of aiding and abetting making false statements in the acquisition of firearms. Williams and Groves are each charged separately in one count each of making a false statement to a federal agent.

Gun trafficker tied to firearm found after shooting

One gun that officers found after the shooting was bought by 22-year-old Fedo Antonia Manning from Frontier Justice in Lee’s Summit, Missouri, in 2022 and had been trafficked on the black market, according to court documents. Based on how the gun was found, officials said it could have fired several rounds before it was abandoned.

Manning allegedly trafficked dozens of firearms, court documents said, and 15 guns he had previously bought that law enforcement officers seized were in the hands of other people, including several who were legally banned from owning firearms.

The complaint charges Manning with conspiracy to traffic firearms, engaging in firearm sales without a license, and 10 counts of making a false statement on a federal form. In ten gun purchases, Manning allegedly said he was the actual buyer of the firearm, prosecutors said, but the guns were transferred to other people shortly after he bought them.

Manning and Williams also allegedly purchased firearm receivers, court documents added, which can be built into a firearm by adding components that may not be regulated under federal law.