The Kansas City Chiefs chose to keep a shooting that occurred at their team facility secret amid a political battle for the location of the team’s new stadium and practice facility.

Per the Kansas City Star, a bullet was shot into the office of head coach Andy Reid last May.

Per Jesse Newell of The Athletic, Chiefs President Mark Donovan said the team chose to keep the shooting a secret while cooperating with local law enforcement.

“Then we went back and said, ‘OK, here’s where we are. Here’s the situation. Here’s what we’ve determined happened. What’s the next step, both from a PR standpoint (and) from a communication standpoint?’” Donovan said at the team’s annual kickoff luncheon on Thursday. “And we made our decisions and moved on.”

The Kansas City Chiefs kept the shooting secret at an interesting time

Dec 25, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid leaves the field following their game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Barry Reeger-Imagn Images
Dec 25, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid leaves the field following their game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Barry Reeger-Imagn Images

The decision to keep the shooting private is curious, given the mass shooting that occurred during the Chiefs’ Super Bowl parade a few months earlier in February. When the homes of Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce were burglarized in October, the crimes became public knowledge in November.

The Chiefs’ decision not to publicize the shooting in May doesn’t appear to be a PR plan to keep distractions down for a team that had aspirations of winning a three-peat.

During the luncheon in downtown Kansas City on Thursday, Donovan was asked if the shooting would have any impact on where the Chiefs plan to build their next stadium. The team is deciding between staying on the Missouri side of Kansas City or moving to Kansas.

Shooting won’t have sway on the next stadium, per Mark Donovan

Kansas City Chiefs president Mark Donovan (left) speaks with general manager John Dorsey
Sep 7, 2014; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs president Mark Donovan (left) speaks with general manager John Dorsey before the game against the Tennessee Titans at Arrowhead Stadium. The Titans won 26-10. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Donovan said it wouldn’t.

“It really doesn’t,” Donvan said. “I think in any situation, we have to be fully prepared, no matter where you go. It’s something (on which) we will be fully prepared, no matter where we go. So it really doesn’t have an impact.”

One has to wonder if the PR decision had anything to do with the political battle (called the border war) in Kansas City. Numerous local businesses are dealing with an increase in crime in the area (the city had a record 182 killings in 2023).

It certainly doesn’t bode well for Missouri that a shooting happened at the facility months after the incident in Union Station in February.

Jul 22, 2025; St. Joseph, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid rides a cart down the hill to the fields prior to training camp at Missouri Western State University. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images
Jul 22, 2025; St. Joseph, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid rides a cart down the hill to the fields prior to training camp at Missouri Western State University. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images