FBI, KC-area first responders train for worst-case scenarios ahead of World Cup
The line of FBI staffers donned protective suits and combed through the area surrounding the blast site, picking up pieces of shrapnel and other bits of debris before stuffing items in bags for further inspection.
Here, a table with a hole blown through it, there, some batteries, wiring and a containment tube. Investigative photographers snapped pictures of the scene.
“Whatcha got?” one investigator asked a colleague, eying a small burnt piece.
The scene on a lower floor of an Overland Park office building simulated the investigation of an explosion as part of a two-day training event organized by the FBI’s Kansas City office with an eye toward readiness for the World Cup in 2026. Officials opened a limited portion of the training to the media on Wednesday morning.
The FBI, the Kansas City Police Department, the Overland Park Police Department and the Overland Park Fire Department participated in the training, as did local medical professionals in a portion of the event held at the Overland Park Regional Medical Center.
“We wanted to make sure that whatever we may meet in the World Cup, we’ve tested it before we have to use it for real in any type of real-world activity,” said Steve Cyrus, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Kansas City office.
Preparing for a potential World Cup incident
At the training this week, specialty law enforcement teams that might handle a SWAT response, evidence processing or explosives and hazardous materials worked together to process mock scenarios as they would in a real response, Cyrus said.
Those who went through training at the hospital worked through a mass casualty event and things like the logistics of managing people exposed to hazardous materials and keeping suspects separate from victims, he said.
“The most important thing is you want to make sure that the first time that you conduct any type of specialty endeavor, isn’t the time that you have to do it for real,” Cyrus said. “We do this all the time. We want to make sure that they get good repetition so that they have practice, and so they’re not faced with a situation they haven’t seen before in a crisis situation.”
KCPD Deputy Chief Joe Mabin said exercises like the one held in Overland Park this week help law enforcement to evaluate tactics, build relationships and look for areas to improve.
“We train often together with the FBI and other partners, but this was a really detailed and thorough training exercise,” he said. “We’ll take a look at any opportunities, strengths that we’ve had from this, any gaps, and incorporate those into future plans as it relates to the World Cup. This will be invaluable as we prepare for FIFA next year.”
Mabin said the department has been planning for the World Cup, which will bring six matches and a swell of fans to Arrowhead Stadium in June and July, for the better part of the last two years.
“I’m confident,” he said, “that we’re doing all we can to have a safe and secure World Cup 2026 experience for Kansas City.”
This story was originally published September 17, 2025 at 5:08 PM.
