The mother of a man charged with murder during the Kansas City Super Bowl parade shooting has created a GoFundMe for him, as his sister insists he is not a monster.
Teneal Burnside organized the cash appeal for her alleged murderer son Lyndell Mays, 23, along with a photograph of him seriously ill in his hospital bed.
He was among those shot at the February 14 celebration and was shot nine times. Prosecutors now say Mays was one of two men guilty of the horrific bloodbath, although her unnamed sister insists he was only trying to protect her.
Pleading for cash, Burnside said Mays was going through a “tragic time,” adding: “He’s in the ICU fighting to recover from multiple surgeries, going to the Chiefs’ Super Bowl celebration parade with his older sister.” .
“Being shot multiple times at a time that was expected to bring so much joy to so many has caused pain and sadness for everyone in attendance.”
On Tuesday, Mays was charged with second-degree murder in last week’s shooting that left DJ Lisa López-Galván dead. The fundraiser raised $100 before being withdrawn.
Mays remains in stable condition at the hospital and is being held in armed custody, with bail set at $1 million. Facebook photos seen by DailyMail.com show him posing with huge wads of cash.
Prosecutors say the other man charged, Dominic Miller, 18, was the one who fired the fatal shot.
The family of 23-year-old Lyndell Mays created this GoFundMe for him before he was charged in the Kansas City Super Bowl parade shooting that left one person dead.
Mays was criticized nine times. Also charged is Dominic Miller, 18, who prosecutors say fired the shot that killed the only person killed: DJ Lisa López Galván.
Mays appears in the photo before the shooting. His sister insists that he is “not a monster” and that he is innocent of second-degree murder charges.
Mays drew his gun first during the Feb. 14 shooting, prosecutors say, and 25 were hit by bullets in the violence that followed.
Mays and fellow murder suspect Dominic Miller are being treated at this Kansas City hospital.
They have charged Mays over claims that he pulled his gun first during an argument that turned deadly and that he also fired during the shooting spree that followed, in which prosecutors say 25 people were wounded.
Those allegations were refuted by her sister, who told DailyMail.com that Mays was “innocent” and “protecting her.”
The brother, who asked to remain anonymous, said: “For them to turn my brother into a monster, it really hurts me inside because he was just trying to protect us.”
“He doesn’t deserve to be thrown around like that.” My brother is tall and wide, he is burly. They were little, little kids trying to prove something.
A juvenile in a red hooded sweater is seen hurriedly removing his backpack as if he was searching for something inside it during the fight.
Eyewitnesses claimed that this man who was seen covering his mouth with a bloody hand had been shot in the face during the fight.
‘They had been looking at it and they came up to us, they came up and they were looking at it. We can see that they have weapons in their pockets.
“We never approached them, they approached us.”
‘I asked one boy how old he was and he told me he was 15. I tried to tell him that we are here to celebrate, not to fight or start violence.
Mays has also been charged with armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon following the Valentine’s Day shooting at Super Bowl LVIII.
People flee after shots were fired near the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl LVIII victory parade on February 14, 2024, in Kansas City, Missouri.
A woman with a large cut on her face was seen being stretchered away from the scene.
His sister added: ‘They had been looking at him and they came up to us, they came up and were looking at him. We can see that they have weapons in their pockets.
“We never approached them, they approached us. I asked one boy how old he was and he told me he was 15. I tried to tell him that we are here to celebrate, not to fight or start violence.’
At least 30 people were injured in the shooting, in which one person was killed and 25 suffered gunshot wounds. Police confirmed that the injured ranged in age from eight to 47 years old, half of them under 16 years old.
Investigators say Mays pulled out his gun but didn’t fire first, and his sister claimed he tried to get his brother to leave.
She added that the leader of the group said ‘they better catch him’ to his friends, before she tried to calm the situation.
“I turned around and heard the gunshots, and it was all in slow motion,” he told DailyMail.com.
“Everything was happening and I was trying to get to safety, but I saw my brother shoot back.
‘The bullets were flying towards him, he wasn’t shooting at them, he was just shooting. I see him fall to the ground. There was a nurse who helped us and saved his life.’
Police have confirmed that May’s gun was not the weapon that killed DJ Lisa López-Galván, but say he pulled out his firearm first.
Dominic Miller, 19, faces the same charges and authorities say he is believed to have fired the fatal shot.
Both men remain in hospital with injuries following the shooting and are under 24/7 surveillance, prosecutor Jean Peters Baker confirmed.
If convicted, the two could face life behind bars and are being held on $1,000,000 bail.
May’s family accepts he should face charges related to possessing a gun and shooting into a crowd, but criticized prosecutors for charging him with murder.
‘He did not murder that lady. The other guy’s bullet killed her. Why have they accused him of that?’ Her sister added.
‘The other charges are fine, we understand. We just want our voices and his to be heard, it’s not fair to paint him as a monster. What if they come and try to finish the job?
‘My brother is a homeboy, he’s not on the street. He stays at home with his girlfriend and hugs each other. He is not a bad person.
‘But at the same time, who will be our protector? “People don’t understand what I witnessed and what I saw, but however they published it, they changed everything and that makes me very angry.”
His family criticized prosecutors for not telling them they were releasing May’s name and accusing him of murder, saying he was “screwed”, adding that they “don’t care about his safety”.
They created a GoFundMe for Mays before police charged him and have since removed the fundraiser for fear of retaliation.
His father added: “What was he supposed to do with those guys coming at him with semi-automatic weapons?”
‘It wasn’t his gun that killed the woman. We are not safe, the hate they have been giving to the other guy, who was innocent, was receiving death threats.
‘What do you think we’re going to get? It’s a nightmare.
‘Our son is not that kind of person, he is a good-hearted guy who got caught up in a bad situation. He was scared by those weapons.
He knew they had guns, what was he supposed to do if they just wanted him shot dead? He didn’t even shoot first.
Mays and Miller are not the two juveniles who had been charged with weapons-related offenses and resisting arrest last week.
Baker added that the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office is “not done yet” and that other suspects who were involved in the shooting are being sought.
Tributes have poured in for mother-of-two Lisa, who died during emergency surgery in hospital after suffering a gunshot wound to the abdomen.
His devastated family thanked the Jackson County prosecutors’ office and Kansas City police in a new statement Tuesday following the charges.
They added: ‘The effort and hours spent quickly investigating this senseless act of violence are extremely commendable.
‘It is comforting for our family and the entire community to know that this joint team effort has resulted in the identification of the suspects involved.
“While it does not bring back our beloved Lisa, it is comforting to know that the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office and KCPD made it a top priority to seek justice for Lisa, the other victims of the shooting, those who had to witness this unfold. tragedy and the Kansas City community.
Counseling sessions were held for those affected by the shooting on Wednesday, and police urged anyone injured in the shooting, including those who were trampled, to contact police to help with investigations.
