Argentina fans claim their Uber driver was SHOT in terrifying drive to World Cup game in

Argentinian soccer fans in Kansas City say their Uber driver was struck by a bullet when occupants of another vehicle fired at their car as they were traveling to Tuesday’s game against Algeria. Now that shooting appears to be part of a larger crime spree that killed one individual, left four in the hospital, and ultimately resulted in an overnight standoff in Independence, Missouri. 

The South American fans shared their harrowing ordeal with Argentina’s La Nación prior to kickoff. Since then, Kansas City Police Department spokespeople have confirmed the shooting, adding that there are four other victims who were struck near the busy intersection of I-70 and I-670. 

Three adult victims and one teenager were transported to the hospital for treatment. One individual suffered life-threatening injuries. Meanwhile, the juvenile teen is in stable condition and the other two adults suffered non-life-threatening injuries. 

Another individual was found by emergency responders in the driver’s seat of a car that had crashed into a street pole. Officers and EMS found an adult male inside with life-threatening injuries. He was transported to the hospital, where staff discovered what appeared to be a gunshot wound. The crash victim was later pronounced dead at the hospital. 

No motive for the shooting has been reported, although it’s not believed to be related to the World Cup. The victims have not been identified publicly.

Detectives are still working to determine the precise locations of each shooting and what transpired leading up to the attacks. It is believed these incidents occurred ‘in close succession of one another and are ‘connected to one subject of interest,’ according to a KCPD spokesperson. That suspect was the subject of the standoff in Independence. 

General view prior to the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group J match between Argentina and Algeria

‘Through investigation, Detectives have identified a subject of interest in all 5 of these cases and that subject of interest was located a short time after the shootings, in a house in Independence which resulted in a standoff into the over night,’ read the statement provided by KCPD. 

A resolution for that standoff has not been reported. The Daily Mail has sought further information from Independence police.  

News of the shooting first surfaced when panicked Argentinian soccer fans spoke to a reporter from La Nación on their way into the Arrowhead Stadium. 

‘They shot at the car as we were coming,’ one of the fans said in Spanish, according to a translation by Newsweek: ‘They shot at the Uber twice.’

The passengers originally mistook the gunfire for a blown tire before one of the passengers realized what had happened and ultimately police were called to the scene.

Argentina fans cheer in Kansas City as Lionel Messi registers a hat trick for the champions

‘The car was moving, another car came by and shot at it twice,’ one fan said. ‘At first we thought it was a punctured tire—I didn’t see it.

‘He braked, and I saw his leg—the guy had a hole in it,’ the fan said. ‘We called the police. It was horrible.’

The group said they provided statements to officers, who then drove them to the stadium in their patrol cars.

Last year, Kansas City ranked fourth in the nation in violent crime rate among cities with more than 100,000 citizens, according to FBI data. 

And in 2024, there was a fatal shooting during the Chiefs’ Super Bowl championship celebration when local radio host Lisa Lopez-Galvan was struck and killed by a stray bullet. About two dozen others were wounded, although non fatally.