Three men charged in gun trafficking linked to mass shooting at Chiefs rally
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - Federal prosecutors announced three Kansas City men were charged in connection with an illegal firearms trafficking investigation in connection with the shooting outside Union Station on Feb. 14, 2024.
Fedo Antonia Manning, 22, Ronnel Dewayne Williams, Jr., 21, and Chaelyn Hendrick Groves, 19, all face felony charges in federal court.
According to a criminal complaint, two of the firearms recovered in the shooting that left one person dead and 22 others wounded had been illegally trafficked.
An ATF special agent stated in the court document that he believed 12 people showed firearms during the shooting, and at least six of them fired their weapons.
One of the recovered weapons, an Anderson Manufacturing, Model AM-15, .223 caliber pistol, was found along a wall with a backpack next to two other AR-15 style firearms with backpacks, the ATF agent testified. The pistol had one live round in the chamber, 26 live rounds in the magazine, and was in the “fire” position. The magazine is capable of holding 30 live .223 caliber rounds of ammunition, the court document stated.
The agent stated that the pistol could potentially have fired three or four rounds before it was discarded. It was one of 33 similar firearms purchased by Manning, and was bought from Frontier Justice 556 days before the shooting, the court document stated.
BLOG: Shooting at conclusion of Chiefs’ rally at Union Station leaves 1 dead, 22 wounded
The complaint alleged that Manning is not licensed to sell firearms, and in 15 cases, he was transferred the guns to other people shortly after purchasing them himself.
A second firearm recovered at the scene of the shooting was a Stag Arms, Model Stag-15, 300 caliber pistol. It had been purchased by Williams from a gun shop at the KCI Expo Center in November 2023. Williams was accused of buying the gun for Groves, who had accompanied him to the gun show but was not old enough to buy the weapon himself.
The two men were accused of lying to federal investigators about how the weapon was bought.
Federal prosecutors stated that three men were not among the shooters at Union Station, but rather were involved in the illegal purchasing and trafficking of some of the weapons used in the mass shooting.
Manning faces charges of:
- conspiracy to traffic firearms
- engaging in firearm sales without a license
- making a false statement on an ATF form
Williams and Groves were charged with:
- conspiracy to make false statements in the acquisition of firearms
- aiding and abetting making false statements in the acquisition of a firearm
- making a false statement to a federal agent
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