New photos show the 26-year-old black woman who suffered serious injuries after being shot at by Kansas City police as they searched for a vehicle involved in an armed car jacking.
On Friday Kansas City police fired at 26-year-old Leonna Hale five times after she told them there was a gun in the car and as a man who was with her fled.
Horrified witnesses claimed the 26-year-old had been trying to cooperate before she was gunned down and handcuffed on the ground as blood seeped through her white t-shirt.
Authorities tell DailyMail.com that Hale’s pregnancy is just a ‘rumor’ and that they do not believe Hale is actually with child (Hale pictured in 2017)
On Friday Kansas City police fired at 26-year-old Leonna Hale (pictured in an unrelated mugshot) five times after she told them there was a gun in the car and as a man who was with her fled
Hale (pictured in 2017) was rushed to hospital after suffering serious injuries but was in a stable condition, police said
Hale was rushed to hospital after suffering serious injuries but was in a stable condition, police said.
The man, who was said to be her boyfriend, was also taken in by medics on an unrelated medical issue.
Dramatic footage shows Hale being cuffed on the ground as she started to bleed from gunshot wounds at a Family Dollar store in Kansas City.
Onlookers wailed as they repeated claims from Hale that she was pregnant, with one claiming: ‘She did not pull out a weapon on them.’
But authorities tell DailyMail.com that Hale’s pregnancy is just a ‘rumor’ and that they do not believe she is actually with child, Highway patrol spokesman Sgt. Andrew Bell said.
Doctors treating Hale have yet to comment on whether or not she is pregnant, police said.
Not much is known about Hale, who has an undated mugshot for an unknown crime, but police said her last known address was in Topeka.
According to her Facebook account she is the mother of a young daughter and her bio reads: ‘Leonna don’t take NO SH** from ANYONE first off and also I snap easily nd fast.’
Cops said a gun was recovered from near the car – but it was not clear if Hale had been holding it – and they have launched a full investigation while the two officers involved were put on administrative leave.
Kansas City police fired at Leonna Hale five times after she told them there was a gun in the car and as a man who was with her fled just before 8pm on Friday
Horrified witnesses claimed the suspect had been trying to cooperate before she was gunned down and handcuffed on the ground as blood seeped through her white t-shirt
She was rushed to hospital after suffering serious injuries but was in a stable condition. The man she was also taken in by medics on an unrelated medical issue
One witness called She Danja claimed she was a medical assistant and slammed officers for their handling of the incident.
She told the Kansas City Star: ‘She did not pull out a weapon on them. She did not even have a stick in her hand.’ She said the officers then fired at Hale five times.
‘One, two, three, four five. I remember it because it didn’t stop. They shot five times. I remember seeing her hit the ground and I froze.’
She said she had been getting gas and ice cream from a nearby service station when she saw the commotion and heard gunshots.
She said she first heard officers yelling ‘get out of the car’ to two people who were in the vehicle parked next to hers and the male driver fled before Hale exited her vehicle with her hands up.
Officers swooped on her and told her to get on the ground but she allegedly said she was pregnant and could not lie down.
Hale later said there was a gun in the vehicle and she started backing towards a fence in the parking lot before police drew their weapons.
Authorities said cops in two cars were following up on a call about an armed carjacking after dispatchers provided them with a description of the vehicle and license plate.
The officers spotted the car with two suspects inside the parking lot of the Family Dollar store at Sixth and Prospect Avenues in Kansas City and approached it.
But the male driver then allegedly fled northeast as two officers pursued and Hale stepped out of the car and told officers there was a gun inside.
Cops said a gun was recovered from near the car – but it was not clear if the woman had been holding it – and they had launched a full investigation while the two officers involved were put on administrative leave
She Danja (pictured) was quickly asked to move on by the officers but hit back that her sons were still in the store getting ice cream
One witness, who only identified herself as She Danja, said Hale had her hands up and ran three steps away before she was shot
She Danja continued: ‘They got her in handcuffs while they shot her y’all.’ She said she was originally from Louisiana and Arkansas and was just visiting the city.
She continued: ‘I stopped here to get some gas, y’all, and my son just watched this. My one-year-old son just watched this. My 10-year-old son just watched this. And my 13-year-old son just watched this.
‘She was fixing to cooperate. She got scared, she ran down there, they shot her. She ran and they shot at her one, two, three, four.’
She Danja was quickly asked to move on by the officers but hit back that her sons were still in the store getting ice cream.
She shared the video on Facebook, writing: ‘When she got out the car she put her hands up and was talking to them to show she didn’t have a weapon in her hand!!!
‘She did run three steps away when she got scared at them all coming towards her with guns in her face. That’s when she was shot that many times.
‘Keep in mind, they chased her [boyfriend] who jumped out of the vehicle and he was captured unharmed… while she was left there in the street literally still near the vehicle she got out of.
‘I’m literally in shock the whole video!’ she wrote. ‘I’m a whole medical assistant, and it’s literally not how you handle a gunshot victim who’s pregnant.’
Missouri State Highway Patrol said it was investigating the shooting – as it is protocol – while the two officers involved have been placed on administrative leave.
Spokesman Andy Bell said a gun ‘was located’ near the vehicle but did not say whether the victim was holding it at the time of the shooting, citing ‘intricate details that have to be followed up on’.
‘Everything’s going to be analyzed, to be scrutinized by our officers,’ he said, noting that they will review body camera footage from the incident.
Interim Police Chief Joseph Mabin, meanwhile, told reporters that the department would be fully transparent with the highway patrol as the shooting investigation is conducted.
‘We never want to be in these types of situations – not the public, not the police department,’ he said. ‘Anytime anything happens like this, it’s a blight on our community.’