'Not a monster': Family of Lyndell Mays, charged in Chiefs rally shooting, speaks out

The first thing family members of Lyndell Mays want the community to know 
is that they are sorry people were hurt in the mass shooting at the Kansas 
City Chiefs Super Bowl victory rally on Valentine’s Day. The second thing 
is that they believe he acted in self-defense. Mays, 23, was one of two 
men charged this week with second-degree felony murder in the shooting 
that injured 24 people and killed Lisa Lopez-Galvan, a mother of two who 
was a popular disc jockey and radio host. “We’re so sorry for what 
happened to Lisa Lopez-Galvan and her family,” Mays’ father said. “Our 
heart goes out to them,” Mays’ sister said. The two sat down with The Star 
to talk about the events that unfolded Feb. 14 at Union Station. They 
asked that their names not be published because they said they have been 
receiving threats and fear for their safety. They said Mays, who grew up 
in Raytown, is a good person who loves his family, animals and playing 
video games. He struggled with a learning disability and did not finish 
high school. Sometimes, they said, he had comprehension problems. His 
family supported him because he did not have a job. He had recently 
completed probation after displaying a gun in 2021 at a Belton community 
center. Mays’ sister was with him at the rally. The two were excited, as 
were hundreds of thousands of other fans, to celebrate the Chiefs’ victory 
over the San Francisco 49ers.

AN UNEXPECTED CONFRONTATION They were standing at Pershing and Kessler 
roads when they noticed a group of young men heading towards them, down 
the hill from the Liberty Memorial Tower. It made Mays uncomfortable, his 
sister said. The group of guys kept staring. She asked him if he knew who 
they were and he said no. “They made their way up to us in a crowd full of 
people,” she said. They were raising their hands and “looking hostile.” 
“Now they’re saying ‘n---- what you looking at?’” Mays got more nervous. 
“Why are you all still coming at us like we’re your target?” she recalled 
wondering. Then they were standing in front of each other. There were at 
least four of them, she said. One of them had on a Chiefs puffer coat. 
Another had a red hoodie. One had dreadlocks. Two of them had backpacks. 
Mays’ sister said she could see one of them had a gun in a backpack and 
another had a handgun in his pocket. “To me it was intimidation,” she 
said. She said the group was “hyped up.” She tried to de-escalate the 
situation, telling them that they didn’t want any problems. The charging 
documents filed by Jackson County prosecutors accusing Mays in the 
shooting say he pulled out a gun — believed to have been stolen — first. 
His sister said she wasn’t sure about that. “They approached us,” she 
said. “They were the aggressors.” Bullets started flying.

Mays fell to the ground. “I turn back around and run back to him,” she 
said. Blood was coming out of his face and she asked for God’s mercy. A 
nurse came over and helped tend to his wounds. ‘IT MAKES NO SENSE’ At the 
hospital, Mays’ family said they learned he had been shot nine times. He 
had a collapsed lung, a breathing tube was inserted and he underwent 
surgery. The family casts doubt on allegations that he admitted to the 
Kansas City Police Department that he drew his gun first and fired. They 
allege Kansas City police officers questioned him while he was being given 
opioids. The department referred questions to the Jackson County 
Prosecutor’s Office, which declined to comment on the case. “How can you 
say my brother admitted to these statements when he was highly sedated?” 
Mays’ sister said. “It’s not logical. It makes no sense.” When Mays’ 
father learned of the charges, he said he was shocked. Mays was released 
from the hospital Tuesday and booked into the Jackson County jail. Family 
said he is now in the detention center’s infirmary. Mays’ father said his 
son does not understand how he is charged with murder when he did not 
murder anyone.

Prosecutors allege that the bullet that killed Lopez-Galvan was fired by 
Dominic Miller, the second man charged with murder. However, Missouri law 
says that a person who did not pull the trigger can still be charged when 
someone is killed during the commission of a dangerous felony. The two 
were also charged with armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon. 
Mays’ family said they don’t think police or prosecutors considered that 
he may have acted in self-defense. Mays’ sister said the group that 
approached them were the aggressors. “My brother is my hero, my 
protector,” she said. Missouri’s self-defense law, known as the “castle 
doctrine” or “stand your ground,” gives people wide latitude to use deadly 
force if they reasonably believe they are about to be attacked. Mays’ 
sister said authorities were under pressure to get answers and her brother 
became “the one we point the finger at.” However his family also 
acknowledges that he should not have had a gun at a parade. They said they 
would have told him he doesn’t need a firearm at all. Missouri law 
generally allows firearms to be carried by adults, including anyone over 
18, at parades and other large-scale gatherings. They believe he should be 
held responsible for carrying a stolen gun to the parade, but not murder. 
“I do not want them to think my brother is a monster because he is not a 
monster,” his sister said.

https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article285831986.html