In shadow of Chiefs rally mass shooting, will KC’s World Cup fan fest be safe?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Fan Festival will use fencing with designated entry points and metal detectors.
- Entry requires a mobile app that provides attendance numbers and caps inside at 25,000.
- Bag policy mirrors the 2023 NFL Draft and bags will be subject to search on entry.
As Kansas City prepares to host massive crowds for the FIFA World Cup and accompanying events, law enforcement officials say security plans have been shaped in part by lessons learned from the 2024 Chiefs Super Bowl rally shooting.
The mass shooting near Union Station in March 2024 left one person dead, Lisa Lopez-Galvan, and more than 20 others injured by gunfire, including nine children, aged 6 to 15.
Officials say those lessons are reflected in how Kansas City is approaching security for World Cup events.
“After any tragic event, … there is a review of things that went well and things that could have gone better,” said Capt. Jake Becchina, Kansas City Police Department spokesperson. “It’s safe to say that every time we plan a new event or a familiar event again, we add in details and changes.”
Unlike the open-access Super Bowl rally at Union Station, the security setup for the Kansas City Fan Festival will more closely resemble the 2023 NFL Draft, Becchina said. But many of the safety and security plans remain private among the law enforcement agencies taking part in World Cup operations.
The Fan Festival will run for 18 days starting June 11 on the grounds of the National WWI Museum and Memorial.
FIFA World Cup Fan Festival in Kansas City
The Fan Festival events will be secured by fencing with designated entry points, where everyone will pass through metal detectors. Everyone is required to download a mobile app to get into the fan festival. This will give authorities information on attendance numbers, Becchina said.
Those measures were all present at the 2023 NFL Draft, and have been cited in several lawsuits as missing from the Chiefs Super Bowl celebration that preceded the rally shooting in 2024.
“None of those conditions have been present for any of the 3 Super Bowl parades,” Becchina said. “This controlled access and presence of security measures is expected to greatly enhance the safety at and around the FIFA Fan Fest.”
The Fan Festival has a bag policy similar to the 2023 NFL Draft. Roughly 300,000 people attended the free, three-day event in April 2023.
The Fan Festival is capped at 25,000 people inside at one time.
Pam Kramer, Chief Executive Officer of KC2026, said during a Tuesday press conference that was intentional from organizers, for wanting to push people to other events around the region.
Clear bags measuring up to 12 x 6 x 12 inches will be permitted, along with diaper bags and medically necessary bags, while non-clear bags must not exceed 4.5 x 6.5 inches.
All bags are subject to search upon entry to the festival.
Questions remain about parade security planning
Kansas City Police officials have not publicly provided a detailed explanation of how the 2024 Chiefs Super Bowl rally shooting unfolded despite a large law enforcement presence.
Officials have said roughly 800 to 850 officers were assigned along the parade route and rally area that day.
Police Chief Stacey Graves previously said, “No one is more prepared than us,” while outlining security preparations ahead of the event and pledging, “We are going to make sure Kansas City has a safe, fun day.”
The shooting also raised questions about differences in security approaches between major public events.
One lawsuit filed in 2025 said that while police officers were spread throughout the parade route and rally areas, the rally had no security measures — checkpoints, metal detectors or barriers. The complaint said those security measures are necessary at mass gathering events and would have stopped the shooting.
The league mandated security precautions for the 2023 NFL Draft in Kansas City that were far stricter than what was employed at this 2024 parade and rally.
Where do the Union Station shooting cases stand?
Terry Young and Dominic Miller, initially charged with second-degree murder, pleaded guilty to unlawful use of a weapon and received two-year sentences that included time served.
Both have since been released.
A third man, Lyndell Mays, still faces a second-degree murder charge and an additional charge of causing catastrophe and is set to stand trial in 2027.
Jackson County Prosecutor Melesa Johnson said after Miller’s plea hearing that Missouri’s self-defense law imposes a burden of proof that was too high for her office to secure a murder conviction.
Her office has previously said it has increasingly declined charges in cases involving self-defense claims. The year before Stand Your Ground became law, the prosecutor’s office declined charges in 24 cases. By comparison, the office declined to file criminal charges in 58 cases in 2025.
The case has sparked broader debate over how Missouri’s self-defense laws are applied in violent crime prosecutions.
Law professors, defense attorneys, former prosecutors and legislators have been split on how Missouri’s stand your ground law impacted the two settled cases, with some Republican lawmakers calling it a “cop-out,” while other attorneys note that the way the law is written opens up avenues for defense cases.
