Nine people were injured in a shooting near England’s World Cup base camp in Kansas City, Missouri, in the early hours of Saturday morning, raising fresh security concerns ahead of the tournament that kicks off in just days.
Police responded to reports of shots fired near 79th Street and Troost Avenue at around 4 a.m. Saturday, arriving to find a large crowd scattering from the scene.
Kansas City Police Department captain Jake Becchina confirmed that three adult females had sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital, and it subsequently emerged that nine adults in total had gone to various local hospitals.
All injuries were described as non-life-threatening, and all victims are expected to survive. No suspects are currently in custody, though officers have continued to patrol the location.
The intersection where the shooting occurred is roughly 4.6 miles from England’s base camp at Swope Soccer Village. The hotel where England’s team will be staying sits even further from the scene, approximately 15 miles away.
Kansas City Police Department Officer Alayna Gonzalez was clear in stressing that the incident did not occur near any World Cup venue or anything else related to the tournament. The
England Squad Was Not in Kansas City at the Time
There was no danger to England’s players or staff, as the squad was not even in Missouri when the shooting happened. England’s players and staff are currently in Palm Beach, Florida, where they are completing their World Cup preparations.
On Saturday, they defeated New Zealand 1-0 in their first warm-up match in Tampa. They face Costa Rica at the Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando on Wednesday before flying to Kansas City on Saturday, June 13, where they will stay for the remainder of the tournament.
A second shooting also occurred in Kansas City on Saturday evening, just miles from the first incident on Troost Avenue, in which two people were killed. A resident near the Troost Avenue scene told the Kansas City Star that hearing gunshots in the neighborhood at least once a week is not uncommon.
Security Spotlight Grows as Tournament Opening Nears
The incidents in Kansas City have come alongside a separate act of violence in another host city. Six people were wounded in a stabbing on Sunday at New York’s Penn Station, with the city’s mayor confirming the alleged perpetrator was taken into custody. Taken together, both incidents have put a spotlight on the massive security operation surrounding the World Cup.
The 48-team, 104-match tournament presents an unprecedented security challenge for the United States, which is hosting 78 matches across 11 cities.
Security tools deployed include hunter drones capable of shooting nets over objects in restricted airspace, AI-powered cameras, robot dogs for bag inspection, and giant X-ray trucks.
Kansas City is expecting around 650,000 visitors during the World Cup, an unusually high influx for the area.
On Thursday, the Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners accepted a $17 million federal grant for World Cup security and safety. Authorities have maintained that no credible threats to the tournament have been identified.
