Four shot in Brockton after World Cup celebrations spiral into violence

Brockton police received multiple reports of gunfire shortly before midnight Friday and found at least four people with gunshot wounds at the intersection of Main Street and Park Street. All four victims were taken to the hospital, and no arrests had been reported at the time.

The shooting came as hundreds of people gathered after a World Cup match at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, where Norway and France played Friday night. By Sunday, large crowds across the city generated numerous calls for service and forced a significant response from officers during a second, more chaotic night tied to World Cup celebrations after Cape Verde’s match against Uruguay.

Those celebrations followed a run by the Cape Verde national football team that had already drawn attention well beyond the tournament. The team stunned Spain and then played Uruguay to a 2-2 draw, setting off street celebrations in Brockton, home to the largest Cape Verdean population in the United States.

Police were also dealing with multiple separate scenes from that Sunday evening. One shooting happened around 7:50 p.m. on Main Street and another around 10:20 p.m. near Warren Avenue and Forest Avenue. In the Main Street shooting, one victim was found conscious and alert outside a barbershop, and another person was rushed to the hospital.

Surveillance images were later released, and the public was asked to help identify suspects in at least three shootings. At least five people were struck by gunfire and one person was stabbed during the broader stretch of violence tied to the World Cup celebrations.