Image does not show Kansas City parade shooting suspect 'Sahil Omar'
Local media reports say the man was arrested for drunkenness and was released
Kansas City (Reuters) - An image of a person detained at the 2024 Kansas City Superbowl victory parade does not show a 44-year-old “illegal immigrant” named “Sahil Omar,” as claimed in social media posts that also falsely call the man in the photo a suspect in the shootings on Wednesday.
A spokesperson for the Kansas City, Missouri, police said they did not release any information naming Omar or providing any names for the suspects arrested following gunfire sparked by a quarrel that killed one person and wounded 22 others. As of Feb. 16, no subjects in the shooting investigation had been released, he added.
The photographer who took the original image described the individual in the circulating photo as having been arrested for drunkenness at the parade then released, citing local media reports.
Police detained three people, including two minors, as “subjects” in the investigation of the shootings on Feb. 14 during a parade celebrating the city’s NFL Super Bowl victory, but did not disclose their identities.
After the Kansas City shootings, posts on social media platform X, and Facebook, shared an image showing a man in red clothes sitting on a curb with his hands behind his back surrounded by officers.
Captions on the posts said the photo showed a 44-year-old “illegal immigrant” named Sahil Omar who was identified as one of the shooters.
The original image, credited to an AFP photographer, carries caption information that does not name the individual but cites local media reports to say the man was arrested for drunkenness and was released.
More, photos of the man can be viewed on the Getty Images website.
No credible news reports identify the person in the image as one of the three detained subjects.
Captain Jack Becchina, a public information officer for the Kansas City Missouri Police Department, said in a Feb. 16 email that two people still in custody regarding the shooting were juveniles and that the police did not release any information naming a suspect called Omar.
Several people, including adults and juveniles, were detained on Feb. 14, Becchina added, and some of the detainments could result in future charges unrelated to the shooting, however, “No one who is believed to be involved in the shooting has been released.”
Reuters has previously fact-checked a baseless claim that “44-year-old migrant Sahil Omar” was involved in the Jan. 2024 hotel explosion in Fort Worth, Texas.
The same name has surfaced on social media in relation to other news events, indicating it is likely fictitious.
VERDICT False. The image does not show a Kansas City parade shooting suspect or a person named Sahil Omar.
