Early Friday morning, in Phoenix, Arizona, Shatifah Lobley called 911 to say multiple intruders were in her home. Lobley’s ex-boyfriend Morris Richard Jones III, a 36-year-old Black male, allegedly murdered her. Then he prepared an ambush for police.
Jones welcomed the initially responded officers at the front door and then opened fire on them. He managed to injure nine police officers. Direct gunshots wounded five police officers, and another four are said to have been injured by shrapnel or ricocheting bullet fragments. He also used a vehicle parked in the home’s garage to ram police cars in the driveway in an attempt to escape.
Eventually, Jones was shot multiple times by return fire and killed.
During the battle, a second male accomplice surrendered to police while holding a one-month-old baby believed to have been fathered by Jones.
Jones is said to have a lengthy criminal record and be a member of the Crips.
What is most shocking about this story is the lack of coverage in the national media. Consider the nationwide media firestorm over a Black FedEx driver who was allegedly shot at but not injured by two White male suspects. The response by FedEx managers, local police, and local prosecutors is being scrutinized and questioned. The race of the suspects and victim are either in the headline or at the top of each article. They also contain pictures of the victim and the mugshots of both shooters. The media is examining every detail under a microscope.
Meanwhile, this mass shooting with one fatality and nine injured police officers primarily only received media coverage within Arizona. Most media reports do not mention the suspect’s race or show any of his past mugshots.
Does it seem like the media has an agenda? For years, the national media portrayed mass shooters as a phenomenon perpetrated by White males. This narrative is not only wildly false, but the media is ignoring the surging number of mass shootings in the Black community.
