Man arrested in KC, allegedly entered England team media center with tire iron
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- A man entered England’s Kansas City media center carrying what was reported as a tire.
- People inside confronted the intruder; he set the tire iron down and left the building.
- Kansas City police arrested the man after finding he had outstanding warrants.
A man was arrested after he wandered into the English National Team’s media center near Swope Park on Thursday armed with what appeared to be a tire iron, according to the Kansas City Police Department.
The man walked into the media center, located in the 4600 block of East 63rd Street, which the team has used for press briefings, around 1:24 p.m., before English players or coaching staff arrived for a press conference. The incident happened before the squad was scheduled to travel to Miami for their game with Norway on Saturday.
England’s media center opened at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, and then held player interviews at 1:30 p.m. at Swope Soccer Village, where the team had trained. Reporters were restricted from that area until 1:15 p.m. on that day.
The man seemed confused and “a little agitated,” but didn’t appear to have violent intentions, said Toni Zibert, a spokesperson for the Kansas City Parks and Recreation Department.
"We were really appreciative to the officers that responded, to the English (Football Association) security that handled it with grace, and to our own parks employees that also helped step in to make sure that everybody, including the resident, was unharmed and that it was safe and secure,” Zibert said.
The man entered the building through a door that remained open for members of the media, she said. Zibert said she believes the man thought it was the entrance for the building and wandered in.
Henry Winter, a British reporter who writes for World Soccer Magazine, was about to be interviewed by Sky Sports when the incident occurred.
“Brief security breach at England media centre in Kansas City,” Winter wrote on X. “Man came in with a wrench, shouting. Sat down next to me as I was about to do Sky. Police sirens heard on road outside so he scarpered. They were going somewhere else. Police then came to media centre to check. NB: no England players in building.”
Scarpered is a British term for fleeing.
According to police, the man, whose name and age were not released, was confronted by several persons inside the media center.
The English team housed its media center inside the Kansas City Parks and Recreation administrative building on 63rd Street. Several persons confronted the intruder, Officer Alayna Gonzales, a Police Department spokeswoman, said on Monday.
“He was carrying what was reported to be a ‘tire iron,’” Gonzales said. “When he set that down, members picked it up so that he wouldn’t cause any harm to anyone. The man became disgruntled and ultimately left the building.”
Kansas City police officers assigned to the Swope Soccer Village responded and approached the man near the building. The officers suspected he was experiencing a mental health crisis and determined he had warrants out for his arrest, Gonzales said.
The man was arrested and remains in custody on unrelated warrants, she said.
The English Football Association said it will review the incident, according to The New York Times. The football association didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.
The Kansas City Parks and Recreation Department didn’t respond to a request for comment.
The English team is scheduled to return to the practice facility this week as they prepare to face Argentina in a semi-final match on Wednesday in Atlanta.
The Star’s Pete Grathoff contributed reporting.
