Current:Home > MyKansas City mom and prominent Hispanic DJ dies in a mass shooting after Chiefs’ victory parade-LoTradeCoin
Kansas City mom and prominent Hispanic DJ dies in a mass shooting after Chiefs’ victory parade
View Date:2024-12-23 20:48:52
Lisa Lopez-Galvan was a music lover and DJ in the Kansas City area who played at weddings, quinceañeras and an American Legion bar and grill. She mixed Tejano, Mexican and Spanish music with R&B and hip-hop, and volunteered as a host on a radio program.
She also was a devoted fan of Kansas City’s professional sports teams and went with her husband and young adult son to a parade Wednesday at the city’s Union Station to celebrate the Chiefs’ Super Bowl win. Afterward, her tight circle of friends learned that she was killed, one of 23 people shot when the parade ended in gunfire. Lopez-Galvan’s radio station, KKFI-FM, confirmed her death.
Rosa Izurieta and Martha Ramirez worked with Lopez-Galvan for about a year at a local staffing firm but had known her since childhood. They remembered her as an extrovert and a strong Catholic devoted to her family who was passionate about connecting job seekers with employment and ready to help anyone.
And, they said, working part time playing music allowed the mother of two to share her passion as one of the area’s few Latina DJs.
“She was definitely a pioneer. She knew how to get people going,” Ramirez said Wednesday evening. “She was always really good about shouting out people’s birthdays and just making people feel included and loved.”
The shooting victims ranged in age from 8 to 47, and half were under 16, police said. Izurieta said her friends believe Lopez-Galvan was shot in the chest and that her son was shot as well. Three people were detained and police said the shooting appeared to stem from a dispute between several people.
Police identified Lopez-Galvan as Elizabeth Galvan, 43, instead of the name she used on her Facebook page and the name used by her two friends and the radio station. Ramirez said that as a DJ, she went by Lisa G.
Izurieta sent an email Wednesday night to The AP saying, “Kansas City was on Top of The World and when all this occurred It Stopped.”
KKFI posted a statement on its Facebook page confirming Lopez-Galvan’s death “with sincere sadness and an extremely heavy and broken heart.” The station urged people to contact police if they believe they saw something.
The radio station also reposted a photo that Lopez-Galvan had at the top of her Facebook page, which appeared to be from a celebration. It showed Lopez-Galvan with her family. Her husband was smiling, she was laughing, and their teenage daughter was between them. Her son was on the other side of her, and they had their arms around each other. Both children were laughing, too.
“This senseless act has taken a beautiful person from her family and this KC Community,” the radio station said.
Izurieta and Ramirez said Lopez-Galvan’s Kansas City roots run deep. Her father founded the city’s first mariachi group, Mariachi Mexico, in the 1980s, they said, and the family is well-known and active in the Latino community. Her brother, Beto Lopez, is the CEO of the Guadalupe Centers, which provides community services and runs charter schools for the Latino community.
Lopez-Galvan and her two children went to Bishop Miege, a Catholic high school in a suburb on the Kansas side, and she worked for years as a clerk in a police department there.
“This is another example of a real loving, real human whose life was taken tragically with a senseless act,” Beto Lopez said in an interview Thursday on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”
Izurieta said working with staffing companies — matching workers with light manufacturing companies — suited Lopez-Galvan well. She managed a branch office on the Kansas side before departing last fall for another, similar job.
When companies sought workers, the staffing firm would give branch offices the job of finding them. Lopez-Galvan was directing her staff but, Izurieta said, “she would always jump in if she saw a heavy load of people coming in.”
Izurieta described Lopez-Galvan as having “a selfless heart” and “very giving.” She recalled that in 2022, a pregnant co-worker did not seem to have many friends in the area, so Lopez-Galvan organized a baby shower.
Now, friends and family are planning to organize a vigil or memorial to honor Lopez-Galvan.
“She’s the type of person who would jump in front of a bullet for anybody — that would that would be Lisa,” Izurieta said. ”We’re still trying to figure out what happened, how it happened. But some of us are thinking she would have been that person that would have jumped in front of anybody — you know, just to save a life.”
veryGood! (86949)
Related
- Mega Millions winning numbers for November 12 drawing: Jackpot rises to $361 million
- Megan Fox Steps Out in Risqué Look for Movie Date With Machine Gun Kelly
- Hermès Muse Jane Birkin Laid to Rest After Daughters Carry Her Casket Into Funeral Service
- Nordstrom Anniversary Sale 2023: The Best Deals on Activewear from Alo, Adidas, Zella, & FP Movement
- Pete Rose fans say final goodbye at 14-hour visitation in Cincinnati
- Princess Estelle and Prince Oscar of Sweden Look So Grown Up at Royal Family Event
- Sarah Michelle Gellar Shares Rare Photo of Her and Freddie Prinze Jr.'s 2 Kids on Italian Vacation
- You'll Flip Over How Shawn Johnson's Daughter Drew Reacted to Mom's Pregnancy
- The boy was found in a ditch in Wisconsin in 1959. He was identified 65 years later.
- Appalled Miranda Lambert Fan Speaks Out After Singer Busts Her for Selfie
Ranking
- Kyle Richards Swears This Holiday Candle Is the Best Scent Ever and She Uses It All Year
- New Federal Report on Research Into Sun-Dimming Technologies Delivers More Questions Than Answers
- K-9 officer put on leave after police dog attacks surrendering suspect
- Maria Menounos and Husband Keven Undergaro Welcome First Baby via Surrogate
- NFL coaches diversity report 2024: Gains at head coach, setbacks at offensive coordinator
- Ariana Grande Shared How Wicked Filming Healed Her Ahead of Ethan Slater Romance
- Tyra Banks Recreates Her Iconic Life-Size Character for Barbie Shout-Out
- Toby Keith to Receive Country Icon Award at the 2023 People's Choice Country Awards
Recommendation
-
Lala Kent Swears by This Virgo-Approved Accessory and Shares Why Stassi Schroeder Inspires Her Fall Style
-
Karlie Kloss Reveals Name of Baby No. 2 With Joshua Kushner
-
Jersey Shore’s Snooki Gets Candid on Her Weight Struggles in Message to Body Shamers
-
Sink Your Teeth Into These Juicy Secrets About The Vampire Diaries
-
Report: Jaguars' Trevor Lawrence could miss rest of season with shoulder injury
-
Melanie Lynskey and More Stars Who Just Missed Out on Huge Roles
-
Shop the Summer Shoes From Schutz That Everyone’s Buying Right Now
-
Chicago Mayor Receives Blueprint for ’Green New Deal’ to Address Environmental Justice