A story broke just a few days ago about 26-year-old Leonna Hale of Kansas City, Kansas, being shot five times by police. The initial narrative was that she was unarmed, pregnant, and even dead after the shooting. Nothing about the first story was true except for the part about her being shot five times. Ms. Hale was, in fact, armed with a gun which was caught on a body-worn camera. She was also not pregnant. This tidbit of information was confirmed by a local pastor. And while she did get shot by police, she did not die. She was initially in critical condition and has since reportedly been upgraded to stable.
Black Lives Matter and similar groups initially hopped all over this story to make it the next big “thing” similar to George Floyd. After all, what person with a heart in their chest could resist a story like this? An unarmed pregnant woman shot five times by police who died? It was a story crafted perfectly for international headlines. The problem is that the story was simply untrue. The media apparently got this story from a witness on the ground. The witness said Leonna Hale stated she was pregnant.
It is not quite clear where the “unarmed” comment came from but it clearly was not from the police who maintain she was armed the entire time. If the media would have simply done their due diligence, the truth would have prevailed from the start. But, of course, this is not what the media specializes in. They specialize in pushing fear in the form of misleading and/or false stories to generate revenue and political points from their connections on Capitol Hill.
SOURCES:
Woman shot by Kansas City police on Friday is not pregnant | The Kansas City Star
Missouri Investigates Police Shooting of a Black Woman Who Reportedly Said She Was Pregnant – Mother Jones
MSHP: Woman shot by Kansas City police officers on Friday was armed with handgun
Who is Leonna Hale? Outrage Over Missouri Police Shooting of Pregnant Woman
Witnesses said Missouri police shot unarmed pregnant woman 5 times. Cops released this photo. – Breaking911
Pregnant Black woman suspected of carjacking is shot five times by Missouri police, witness says | The Independent
Witness: Police shot unarmed pregnant woman five times, cuffed her
Community demands answers after Kansas City police shoot ‘pregnant’ Black woman | The Independent
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