Скачать или смотреть Kansas City Police Shoot Black Woman, Leonna Hale

*UPDATE* The Kansas City Star reported that an eyewitness saw Leonna with her hands in the air, however in a new development a photo was released by Jackson County Prosecutors Office which contradicts this testimony. We will not know for certain all details of this incident until the full investigation is complete and the public is allowed to view the full video footage.

KANSAS CITY, MO – In what community members are now describing as a “horrific, attempted execution,” two Kansas City police officers shot and critically wounded a Black woman on Friday night, May 27th, in the Independence Plaza neighborhood.

The victim and 26-year-old Black woman identified as Leonna Hale.

The Kansas City Police Department alleges the incident was in an attempt to arrest a woman and a man in connection with a suspected stolen vehicle, but eyewitnesses say this narrative does not add up given the woman had her hands up and was also shot an astounding five times.

Shédanja, an eyewitness who recorded the aftermath of the scene, told The Kansas City Star she heard officers start yelling, “Get out the car,” to two people who were in a car close to her. A man got out of the vehicle, she says, and jumped a fence and took off. Three of the cops took off after him, she said. The woman on the other hand, exited the car with her hands up.

According to the Kansas City Star’s eyewitness account, “The cops told the woman to get on the ground, but the woman informed them that she was pregnant, and so she couldn’t get down on the ground.” Then police asked her to get down multiple times, which she still couldn’t. The woman then informed police that there was a gun in the vehicle.

The woman began moving back toward a fence of the parking lot. Numerous officers approached and drew their weapons. “She did not pull out a weapon on them,” Shédanja said. “She did not even have a stick in her hand.” The woman ran three steps away from officers, Shédanja said, and police shot five times.

“One, two, three, four, five. I remember it because it didn’t stop. They shot five times,” Shédanja, an eyewitness who recorded the aftermath of the scene said. “I remember seeing her hit the ground and I froze,” she says. She also asked police numerous times why they shot the woman, but officers refused to answer.

Shédanja’s account, along with other eyewitnesses, directly contradict the “official police account” provided by Sgt. Bell. Many community members are already placing the event in contrast to the Buffalo Massacre, asking how police can safely apprehend a white man who committed mass murder, but brazenly shoot a Black woman 5 times who posed no threat and had her hands up.

A video of the horrific aftermath shows Leonna lying on the ground after being shot, and the police proceeding to handcuff her, dramatically increasing her likelihood of bleeding to death. Fortunately, Leonna is still alive and now in stable condition.

We will continue to provide contextual and historical information as we report on the tragic story of Leonna Hale, as well as the alleged ongoing “investigation” into why she was shot.

This is a developing story.