Add The California Post on Google Dramatic images of hooded individuals with long guns attracted a lot of attention as they perched on top of businesses outside a venue for the World Cup in Los Angeles.
A user on X shared multiple images where a person in dark clothing and a hood over his head casually sits on top of an Inglewood clothing store on Market Street. In front of him is a sniper gun, balanced on the ledge of the building.
In another photo, a gun could be seen sitting atop a jewelry and pawn shop also on the same street.
The poster, who appears to be against having the 2028 Olympics in the city, said the snipers were only a mile away from SoFi Stadium, where World Cup matches are being held.
Children were playing soccer on the street below, the user claimed.
Team USA had played Paraguay on Friday in the stadium, where Gov. Gavin Newsom and others attended.
The California Post reached out to the poster as well as the two businesses for any details. A worker at the pawn shop said management was not available.
The Post also reached out to the Inglewood Police Department, which has been promoting emergency contact information for security around the event.
James Butts, mayor of Inglewood, told The California Post the snipers are actually called “overwatch officers” who are not federal officers but local law enforcement.
Since the World Cup is an international event, they “are assigned to have the high ground to be ready to respond immediately if there was an active shooter or something like that,” Butts said. He refused to disclose how many have been dispatched.
The specific overwatch officers in the photos were actually not for the stadium but for a local World Cup-related street fair, the mayor added. Market Street was blocked off for vendors, entertainment, children games, and other activities before the World Cup game was put on a big screen for attendees to watch.
“What we found yesterday was that people were comforted by the fact that law enforcement preemptively was there to protect them,” he told The Post.
Security planners have said they are preparing for an “unprecedented” operation to protect the largest tournament in FIFA history.
At a June 5 presser with the California Office of Emergency Services, Inglewood Police Chief Mark Fronterotta laid out some of their security plans, though he made no mention of snipers.
“There will be a myriad of officers out there from across from different sectors of our discipline, and very visible, and some not so visible. But either way, you see uniformed officers or we have hotlines that you can call into, please use them,” he said.
Fronterotta said during matches they would focus attention on entertainment venues and transportation hubs where crowds are likely to gather.
Los Angeles officials have described its security operation as one of the largest in LA history and as a good precursor to Olympics security in 2028. More police, more cameras and more checkpoints will be visible.
The LA County Sheriff’s Department, along with the LA Police Department, Inglewood Police Department, the FBI and the Secret Service, are all working together. Deputies and officers have been training in crowd control and counterterrorism response tactics, officials said.
