An unarmed Black pregnant woman is fighting for her life after police shot her five times.
The shocking incident unfolded in Kansas City, Missouri, on Friday as officers responded to reports of an armed carjacking. The officers stopped the vehicle at a Family Dollar on Prospect and East 6th Avenue because it matched the description of a reported stolen vehicle shortly before 8 p.m. The male driver exited the car and fled, while 26-year-old Leonna Hale slowly got out of the vehicle. When Kansas City Police Department officers ordered her to get on the ground, she put her hands up and informed them she couldn’t because she was pregnant. When they asked Hale if there was a weapon in the car, she confirmed there was, though at no point was she holding the weapon or any object that could have been mistaken for one.
According to a witness named Shédanja, the woman appeared to become frightened. Shédanja says she watched Hale back away towards a fence as officers drew their guns. That is when they began rapidly firing at Hale.
“I remember it because it didn’t stop. They shot five times,” Shédanja told The Star. In a video Shédanja filmed following the shooting, the pregnant woman can be seen lying on the ground with blood on her shirt as Shédanja is heard screaming, “She was gonna cooperate.”
The video was shared on social media, sparking outrage about the brutality of the shooting and the officers’ lack of regard for Hale’s unborn child.
Hale was rushed to the hospital in serious condition but is now stable. The state of her unborn is unknown. The two officers responsible for shooting Hale have been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation.
