Shooting near England team’s World Cup base in Kansas City leaves nine with injuries
Article excerpt
A shooting near England's World Cup team hotel and training facility in Kansas City left nine people injured, though the players and coaching staff were safe in Florida at the time. The incident occurred at a location connected to the England team's operational base during the tournament. Details about the circumstances of the shooting and the identities of those injured remain limited, but the proximity to one of soccer's major international venues underscores the random nature of gun violence in the United States.
Multiple people were injured in a shooting that took place Saturday morning near England’s World Cup base in Kansas City, Missouri, police said.
At least nine adults were taken to nearby hospitals after police responded to a shots-fired report on Troost Avenue around 4 a.m. Saturday, less than four miles from England’s base camp in Swope Soccer Village.
All of those injured were taken to nearby hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries and are expected to survive, Captain Jake Becchina of the Kansas City Police Department said in a statement.
England’s players and staff were not on-site during the incident, as they are currently training in Florida.
No suspects are in custody at this time, but the Kansas City Police Department is investigating the shooting, Becchina said.
At least nine adults were injured in the shooting that took place nearby England’s World Cup base camp (Getty)
Police responded to calls of shots fired near 79th and Troost Avenue and found a large crowd scattering. Three women, who had been struck by gunfire, were then transported to nearby hospitals . Law enforcement later received calls that another six individuals had reportedly been struck. They were also taken to nearby hospitals via private vehicles with non-life-threatening injuries.
It’s unclear at this time what occurred that led to the gunfire.
Kate Fowler, who lives near the site of the shooting, told the Kansas City Starthat she and her husband woke to a bullet hole in a front window of their home. She later learned that gunfire had rung out between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. Friday in addition to Saturday morning’s shooting.
Fowler told the newspaper that it’s not uncommon to hear gunshots in the neighborhood at least once a week.
“It’s just unfortunate circumstances with some of the businesses around here,” Fowler told the Kansas City Star.
England played New Zealand in Tampa, Florida, at the time of the shooting in Kansas City as part of friendly matches ahead of the World Cup beginning (Reuters)
Though England is based in Kansas City, at the time of the shooting, the team was in Florida preparing for a friendly match against New Zealand ahead of the World Cup beginning.
Saturday afternoon, England beat New Zealand 1-0 in Tampa.
England is among the teams that chose Kansas City as its base camp due to its central location in the middle of the U.S. and the quality of its training facilities
Algeria, Argentina and the Netherlands are also based in Kansas City.
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