LA uses World Cup to show off upgraded public transit and test plans to hold car-free Olympics

LOS ANGELES (AP) — When Matthew Smith took his five-year-old son to a World Cup game in the Los Angeles area earlier this month, they opted to take public transit instead of driving from their nearby coastal city.

It was Smith's first time on the LA Metro in a decade, and the experience exceeded his expectations.

“Seems like a very functioning transit system, which is somewhat surprising given its reputation,” he said.

That is the reaction Metro officials were hoping for as they used the 2026 FIFA World Cup's eight LA games to introduce — or reintroduce — people to the region's public transit system, often an afterthought in car-centric Los Angeles. It is an early test run of sorts for the 2028 Olympics, which organizers have billed as a “no car” Games where there will be no parking for attendees at any of the venues. Spectators will have to rely on transit and shuttles to get to events.

Nearly 50,000 rides were taken on rail lines for the July 2 Spain-Austria game that Smith and his son attended. There is no train that runs directly to SoFi Stadium in the LA suburb of Inglewood, but Metro has added 15 shuttle lines to transport people there from major rail stations and transit centers — the farthest route taking one hour and 15 minutes. More than 30,000 rides were taken on those shuttles for that game alone, the agency said.

The Metro will take a similar approach for the Olympics because many venues don't connect directly to the system. For the World Cup, the agency borrowed about 200 buses to meet the increased demand. Officials have said they will need to borrow 3,000 buses for the Olympics.

For many residents, public transit isn't baked into everyday life in Los Angeles, the nation's second most-populous city, quite the same way it is in other major urban centers like New York and Chicago. LA Metro estimates the system provides about 1 million rides each day — roughly the same as Chicago, a smaller city. In New York, meanwhile, it is well over 3 million on the average weekday.

Many view LA's rail and bus system as unreliable at best and unsafe at worse. Certain high-profile violent incidents, such as a 67-year-old woman who died from being stabbed on a Metro train in 2024, have driven those perceptions. Some riders are also concerned about drug use, cleanliness and the presence of homeless people.

In June, Metro launched its own police force, which it hopes to have fully deployed by 2029 to replace the LAPD. The agency hopes having its own sworn officers working along with homeless outreach and crisis response teams will help riders feel safer on its trains and buses.

Metro has also touted data that showed a decline in violent crime over the past two years, with a 13.6% decrease in overall crime in March 2026 compared to a year before.

Martha Banuelos used the transit system sporadically before but generally preferred to “avoid it like the plague.” She started riding the trains again recently to get into the city from North Hollywood for World Cup watch parties.

“It’s a lot cleaner and smells way better,” she said.

Metro has partnered with FIFA to host fan zones and watch parties at key transit hubs — where thousands of fans from around the region gathered to drink, dance to DJ sets, and cheer for their favorite teams. Metro has advertised limited edition tap cards for different countries and leaned into social media to promote public transit during the games.

The system also upgraded its payment options before the World Cup to allow riders to pay directly with a credit card like other cities that have done away with tap cards.

Those efforts worked to draw in new riders like Yasmin Cortez, a 32-year-old who took the train for the first time ever to attend the official FIFA Fan Festival at the LA Memorial Coliseum to watch matches, volunteer for FIFA, and soak in the World Cup spirit. A week later, she took the rail again to root for Uruguay at the Union Station Fan Zone, from Cerritos about 16 miles (26 kilometers) southwest of LA.

“Especially with gas prices now, yeah I should be taking the Metro,” she said. “There’s a lot to explore, and I bought some new walking shoes.”

During the last Summer Games, Paris was lauded for how accessible the Games were, with nearly every venue reachable by Metro, commuter train, tram or bus.

LA, long known for congested roadways, is hard at work to expand its own transit options as the Games quickly approach.

In June, transit enthusiasts rejoiced at the long-awaited extension of the D line, which runs east-west connecting downtown LA to Koreatown, and now further west, where popular tourist attractions like the Grove shopping mall, Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the La Brea Tar Pits are.

It marked the first opening of a heavy rail expansion project in the U.S. since 2020. Four more stations are under construction to extend the line to the University of California, Los Angeles campus, which will serve as the official Athlete Village for the 2028 games.

“LA is a transit city,” said Jennifer Vides, Metro's chief customer experience officer. “People want to try to say that it’s not. Obviously we have a lot more expansion to do and we’re working on it. But people really want transit.”

Dave Ramazzini rides the Metro after a World Cup match between Spain and Austria on Thursday, July 2, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jaimie Ding)

Michelle Valladares, left, and Yasmin Cortez show their FIFA World Cup themed Metro tap cards before attending a watch party on Friday, June 26, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jaimie Ding)

Evan Hallock, left, and his wife Breanna ride the Metro after a World Cup match between Spain and Austria on Thursday, July 2, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jaimie Ding)

Matthew Smith and his son Whitacre, 5, ride the Metro after a World Cup match between Spain and Austria on Thursday, July 2, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jaimie Ding)

Fans exit a Metro shuttle after a World Cup match between Spain and Austria on Thursday, July 2, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jaimie Ding)

HOUSTON (AP) — A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer fatally shot Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican national who lived in the U.S. for decades, as the homebuilder drove his construction crew to a Houston job site.

His death set off protests in Texas' largest city and calls from Democrats and Salgado Araujo 's family for an independent investigation. The shooting on Tuesday in a heavily Hispanic neighborhood is at least the eighth death during the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement campaign.

The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, has said federal officers were conducting a targeted operation to arrest a person in the country without legal status when it attempted to stop a vehicle driven by Salgado Araujo. In a statement, DHS said Salgado Araujo rammed an ICE vehicle and that a federal officer fired a weapon in self-defense.

Salgado Araujo’s family said he had nearly finished the long process of obtaining legal status in the U.S. after living in the country for 35 years, and that he knew what to do if approached by ICE officers. Ronaldo Salgado, his son, said his father may have been scared that the people in unmarked vehicles were coming to steal his work tools.

Here’s what we know about Salgado Araujo’s shooting:

Few photos or video surrounding the shooting in Houston have emerged on social media, unlike other deaths involving federal immigration officers.

DHS said an officer opened fire after Salgado Araujo ignored commands and attempted to ram the officer with his vehicle. The agency has not released any video, photos or additional information since that initial statement released just hours after the shooting.

A video shot by bystander Juliet Martinez shows the aftermath of the shooting. A black vehicle is angled toward a white van, their doors wide open. A bleeding and handcuffed man groans loudly on the ground and his leg shakes. Other federal officers stand over at least three other handcuffed men.

ICE has not released the names of the other men detained, but Salgado Araujo’s family identified one as his brother. Families of the other two men said they were able to briefly talk to them Wednesday and they are being detained.

ICE has not said if they were specifically targeting Salgado Araujo. They also have not responded to requests for information about whether the officers were wearing body cameras or whether the officers involved are on leave.

Salgado Araujo and his wife came to America after meeting in their teens in Mexico and deciding they wanted a better life for their future family, Ronaldo Salgado said.

The father of three built houses in the Houston suburbs, started his own business and established his own crew. He had no criminal record, his family said.

Ronaldo Salgado, the oldest son, became a teacher. He said one of his brothers is an engineer and the other is studying engineering in college.

His son said he was a quiet man who left for work at sunrise and loved to pet his dog and sit on his porch listening to music.

“That’s how I want the world to know my father. Not as someone who got shot and killed, but as a family man, a man who understood that good things come to those who put in hard work,” Salgado said.

Salgado Araujo was at least the eighth person to die during the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement campaign. No immigration officers have been charged in the deaths and video footage in several previous shootings contradicts the accounts of federal officers.

The most well-known of the killings happened during the winter crackdown in Minnesota where U.S. citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti were shot and killed during protests.

Two other shooting deaths happened during traffic stops, including Ruben Ray Martinez, 23, who was killed in Texas in March 2025. His death was not disclosed for nearly a year.

President Claudia Sheinbaum said it is time to escalate Mexico's complaints beyond diplomatic channels after the killing of Salgado Araujo.

“We are going to do everything in our power, because we cannot stand silent” in the face of the deaths of Mexicans “whose only crime is working honestly in the United States,” Sheinbaum said.

Mexico will request that criminal charges be filed in U.S. courts over the alleged killing of three Mexicans during ICE operations and the deaths of another 14 in ICE custody, Foreign Minister Roberto Velasco said Thursday during a presidential press conference.

The complaints, filed against whoever is found responsible for the deaths, will be submitted to state prosecutor offices and the U.S. Department of Justice.

Homeland Security said Tuesday that the department's Inspector General’s office was investigating the shooting.

Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare said Salgado Araujo’s family and the community deserve the truth but that federal authorities are exclusively handling the investigation at this time.

Houston Mayor John Whitmire said city police were not involved in any part of the chase or shooting and have no jurisdiction over federal officers.

Brook reported from New Orleans and Collins from Columbia, South Carolina. Associated Press reporters Gisela Salomon in Miami; Rebecca Santana in Washington, D.C.; and Ryan J. Foley in Omaha contributed.

This story has been corrected to show that Mexico plans to request criminal charges, not that it will file the charges.

Lorenzo Salgado Jr., son of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, holds a family photograph during a news conference Wednesday, July 8, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

A man walks past a makeshift memorial for Lorenzo Salgado Araujo Wednesday, July 8, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Ronaldo Salgado, son of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, speaks during a news conference Wednesday, July 8, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Ronaldo Salgado and Lorenzo Jr., sons of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, hold a photograph of their father during a news conference Wednesday, July 8, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Candles are lit during a vigil for Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican national fatally shot by a federal immigration agent a day prior, Wednesday, July 8, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Mark Felix)