Argentina fans come under gunfire in the United States

Abu Sabet: A group of Argentina fans in Kansas City, Missouri, said they were shot at while traveling to a 2026 World Cup match, describing how bullets struck their Uber vehicle shortly before they arrived at the stadium.

Kansas City Police confirmed to Newsweek that officers responded to a series of shootings in the city on June 16, but said there was “no connection to the game or any FIFA events” and that matches were not disrupted. The South American soccer supporters told an Argentine television crew that a passing car fired twice at their Uber as they traveled to a World Cup game in the United States, hitting the driver in the leg.

Their account, given live to Argentine outlet La Nación, lands as hundreds of thousands of overseas supporters pour into U.S. host cities for the 2026 tournament.

Police said multiple victims reported shots being fired into their vehicles along major roadways around the time of the alleged incident, and that detectives are investigating a number of related cases believed to have occurred in quick succession.

A spokesman for the Kansas City Police Department later confirmed that four victims—including three adults and one teenager—were taken to hospital after a series of shootings reported between about 6 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. This happened across multiple locations, including I‑670 and Wyoming, I‑70 and Paseo, I‑70 and Prospect, and Truman and Hardesty, where drivers said shots were fired into their vehicles.

Authorities said the incidents appeared to occur in quick succession from west to east and may be linked to a single subject of interest, with injuries ranging from non-life-threatening to critical.

It raises safety concerns as the U.S. hosts the global 2026 FIFA World Cup, drawing large international crowds, though authorities stressed the shootings under investigation were not linked to the tournament.

*Copyright 2026 Bangla Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

BP/SM