Taylor Swift donated $100,000 to a GoFundMe set up for the family of Lisa Lopez-Galvan, the Kansas City radio DJ who was killed in the mass shooting that broke out during the Kansas City Chiefs’ victory parade on Wednesday. Swift, who has become an honorary member of the Chiefs nation thanks to her relationship with the team’s star tight end Travis Kelce, instantly met and then exceeded the original $75,000 goal of the page set up to care for the family of the beloved 44-year-old married mother of two.
A spokesperson for Swift — who made the donations just before kicking off the Australian leg of her Eras Tour in Melbourne with the first of three shows in that city — confirmed to Billboard that Swift made two $50,000 donations to the cause early Friday morning (Feb. 16); at press time the GoFundMe had raised more than $177,000 from 1,400 donations.
“She was an amazing mother, wife, daughter, sister, aunt, cousin, and friend to so many. We ask that you continue to keep her family in your prayers as we grieve the loss of her life. This fund will help provide vital financial support to her family as they process this unthinkable tragedy,” read a statement on the donations page, where the average donation ranged from $5-$100.
“Sending my deepest sympathies and condolences in the wake of your devastating loss. With love, Taylor Swift,” the singer wrote.
Lopez-Galvan was a private mobile DJ for more than 15 years and co-hosted “Taste of Tejano” for local station KKFI since March 2022. “It is with sincere sadness and an extremely heavy and broken heart that we let our community know that KKFI DJ Lisa Lopez, host of Taste of Tejano lost her life today in the shooting at the KC Chiefs’ rally. Our hearts and prayers are with her family,” read a statement from the station.
The DJ was among nearly one million Chiefs fans two attended the downtown rally celebrating the team’s third Super Bowl win in five years when gunfire erupted near the end of the parade. The burst of gunfire killed Lopez-Galvan and injured 22 others, with half the victims under the age of 16. According to USA Today, a personal dispute between several people spurred the shooting, with police detaining three juveniles in the incident; one of the unnamed suspects was later released. One of the people questioned by police was tackled by bystanders before being detained at the event that a massive police presence of more than 800 officers.
Kelce tweeted, “I am heartbroken over the tragedy that took place today. My heart is with all who came out to celebrate with us and have been affected. KC, you mean the world to me.”
KC Mayor Quinton Lucas said the mass shooting will not deter the city from hosting parades or mass celebrations in the future — including a St. Patrick’s Day parade next month — in a state that Democrat Sen. Steve Roberts said has “some of the loosest gun laws” in the country. “There is a gun violence challenge in this community and many others. And there certainly is a gun violence challenge as it relates to major events,” Lucas said on Thursday. “That, however, does not mean that Kansas City will stop having major events. We will do all we can to make sure people are safe.”
Meanwhile, Republican Sen. and gubernatorial candidate Bill Eigel tweeted, “To the liberal gun grabbers already trying to use this KC tragedy to push your radical gun control agenda, hear me now: NOT IN MISSOURI. One good guy with a gun could have stopped the evil criminals who opened fire on the crowd immediately. Guns don’t kill people. Thugs and criminals kill people.”
