Public safety officials in American cities have reassured the public for months that they are well-prepared for the FIFA World Cup.
A string of high-profile and very public incidents of violence have some questioning just how equipped the U.S. is to handle the thousands set to arrive in days. Despite the statistically low likelihood of becoming a victim in a random, violent attack, those incidents often have an outsized impact on public perception, experts say.
On Sunday evening, at least five people were stabbed at New York’s Pennsylvania Station, the day before huge crowds of fans poured into nearby Madison Square Garden through tight security for Game 3 of the NBA Finals.
On Saturday, a shooting in Kansas City left nine injured near England’s World Cup base camp days before the start of the tournament.
And in Atlanta, the city has been rattled by a series of incidents that fall into that rare but fear-inducing category of crime: violent attacks on seemingly random strangers.
A shooting on a MARTA train Friday evening left a 17-year-old boy in the hospital after a man walked up and shot him. Over the past six weeks, a postal worker was attacked with a rock at a post office, a woman was fatally stabbed in broad daylight on the Atlanta Beltline, a man was wounded in a stabbing at a MARTA bus stop, and a 66-year-old woman was fatally stabbed on a MARTA train.
In Atlanta and nationally, homicide rates are down from prior years, according to 2025 data analyzed by the Council on Criminal Justice, a nonpartisan think tank.
But in the minds of the general public, the perception of danger often overshadows the statistics, said Adam Gelb, an Atlantan and the council’s president.
“They don’t want these kinds of things to be happening at all,” Gelb said. “They think riding a train should be a safe experience, and there should be no chance that they encounter violence. So when it does happen, it shatters their conception of safety, of how safe certain places should be.”
It makes sense that people are more afraid in the wake of high-profile acts of violence because the incidents give an impression of lawlessness that can impact anyone, Gelb added.
“Even if the overall numbers are down, just a few incidents that seem especially random, or brazen, or brutal can make people scared — and legitimately so," he added.
Credit: Ben Hendren
Credit: Ben Hendren
Betsy Brantner Smith, a spokesperson for the National Police Association and a retired sergeant from a Chicago-area police department, agreed the public’s fears, to some extent, are well-founded, pointing to political tension and violence in the U.S.
Nonetheless, police departments in cities planning to host large events like World Cup games likely have been conducting “expect-the-unexpected-type planning” with county, state and federal law enforcement partners for months, or even years ahead of time, she said.
The Atlanta Police Department has said previously they have braced for cyberattacks, water system disruptions, mass protests, unruly fans, or even the possibility of a terrorist attack, in preparing for the World Cup.
MARTA has increased staff shifts to six days a week, has officers working some 12-hour days, and has added manpower from the Denver Transit Authority, the AJC previously reported.
Referring to the recent violent incidents at Penn Station and in Kansas City, Atlanta and elsewhere, Smith said: “Is this something that the leadership of the Atlanta Police Department is looking at over the last week or so and going, ‘Oh gosh, we better plan for this’? Trust me, they plan for it.”
Even with the extensive preparation, overcoming public perception in the wake of violent incidents in headlines is a tall order, experts said.
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, when asked Tuesday about the recent violence that has thrust MARTA into the spotlight, acknowledged the latest violence has given the agency a “black eye” of sorts on the eve of the World Cup’s arrival.
“You never want that to happen at any time, and you certainly don’t want that to happen while you’re welcoming the world and encouraging them to take public transportation,” Dickens said, but he again assured the public of the city’s and MARTA’s commitment to public safety.
Nationally, the White House Task Force for the FIFA World Cup has worked with more than 400 law enforcement agencies to prepare for the World Cup, the task force’s executive director, Andrew Giuliani, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“All 78 matches in the United States of America will have counter-drone coverage, and one fan fest in every single city will have it for the duration of the tournament as well,” Giuliani said.
Giuliani, the son of Rudolph Giuliani, the former New York City mayor and personal attorney for Donald Trump, said his organization is focused on “all the different threats that exist out there.”
Credit: Ben Hendren
Credit: Ben Hendren
One thing that can pose a threat at large public events or near them, and which can be a particularly American danger, are guns and the threat of a mass shooting — and that’s on top of the typical run-of-the-mill crime levels police face every day.
“Gun violence is a uniquely American problem, but the risk of violence varies pretty widely between states,” said Kelly Drane, research director of GIFFORDS, a national advocacy organization focused on preventing gun violence.
She said people in Georgia are 2 1/2 times more likely to die from gun violence than people in California, which she noted has stronger laws regulating who can carry guns in public and which create a process for law enforcement to work with courts to disarm individuals who threaten violence.
At big events in stadiums and other large venues, people typically pass through metal detectors and their bags are inspected beforehand, Drane said.
But outside the venue itself, there are viewing parties and victory celebrations and gatherings in bars in the city, Drane told the AJC.
In Atlanta, for example, there are several planned watch parties at bars and restaurants, a two-day Beltline Fest at Pittsburgh Yard, and a FIFA Fan Fest for 18 days at Centennial Olympic Park.
“I think that’s where there’s also concern that violence could potentially erupt,” Drane said.
MARTA police Chief Scott Kreher has said previously that the agency cannot ban weapons on trains and in stations due to the state’s open carry law.
Smith, of the National Police Association, said “the gun laws are not the problem.”
“You already have laws that say you can’t have a gun here, you can’t use a gun here,” she said. “People break those laws. The problem is we don’t punish people for breaking those laws.”
Leaders in Atlanta routinely say it’s impossible to prevent all crime, but they highlight that the vast majority of people do not fall victim to it.
On MARTA, one violent crime resulting in serious injuries or death occurs for every 1.9 million trips on a MARTA train or bus. Across all transit systems nationwide, the rate is about one crime for every 3.5 million trips, according to a recent AJC analysis.
Credit: Ben Hendren
Credit: Ben Hendren
Combatting crime is not just one agency’s responsibility, said Gelb of the Council on Criminal Justice. It requires, he said, a “whole of government approach,” a term that refers to cooperation among city agencies to improve quality of life for residents.
Making sure streets are well lit and designed to accommodate their expected uses, creating diversion programs that help rehabilitate those accused of committing less-violent crimes, and providing resources to help people experiencing poverty all contribute to lowering crime rates, he said.
Atlanta police Chief Darin Schierbaum shared those same sentiments in a recent op-ed for the AJC, outlining what he sees as priorities for helping his department fight crime.
Gelb said acts as simple as cleaning up trash and graffiti can make a positive impact.
“Creating a physical environment that makes people feel that someone is in control and in charge, and that this is not a place that’s a magnet for troublemakers,” he said. “I don’t think it’s that difficult, and I don’t think it will take that long, to restore confidence.”
On MARTA, one question that arises when a crime occurs is whether its fare system could have filtered out the perpetrator.
The agency is in the process of overhauling its fare system, which includes replacing all of its fare gates. Installation began last fall, and construction is still ongoing at many stations.
For several recent months all the gates were open to allow riders access while the system transitions. That grace period was originally slated to end May 2 and then was extended through May 30. At stations where the new gates haven’t been installed, the old fare gates or emergency doors are open to allow access.
And the impacts of fares and gates are mixed on crime. Kreher previously told the AJC that in one of the previous stabbing incidents, victim and perpetrator both skipped paying their fare. In Friday’s shooting, both parties paid.
Kreher said he is committed to improving safety for local riders — not just for the World Cup, but in the long-term too.
“We strive to fight violent crime every day,” Kreher said over the weekend, “and every time we have a violent crime, you know, my heart tightens up and I take it personally.”
Staff writer Shaddi Abusaid contributed to this article.
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