Media Bias: Kansas City Super Bowl Parade Shooting

On February 14, 2024, the Super Bowl celebration in Kansas City tragically ended in violence. Gunfire broke out, killing one person and injuring 23 others. Kansas City Police reported that the incident appeared to be caused by a dispute between several people that escalated into gunfire.^[1]

The Kansas City Police Department initially detained two suspects, who were juveniles.^[1] A few days later, two adult men were formally charged with murder in connection with the shooting - Dominic Miller of Kansas City and Lyndell Mays of Raytown.^[2]

^{Pictured: Lyndell Mays, Jackson County Detention Center}

Media coverage surrounding the shooting was strangely quiet, especially when it came to the identities of the shooting suspects. Was the mainstream media purposely avoiding reporting on the identities of the suspects?

Conservative commentator Ann Coulter made this observation on Bill Maher's show on Friday, February 16th.^[3] Coulter claimed the public would already know the identity of the shooter "if it were a white male."

MAHER: We don’t know who did this shooting, by the way, the Super Bowl shooting.

COULTER: We have some idea.

MAHER: What?

COULTER: If it were a white man shooting, we’d know.

MAHER: Well we don’t know. I mean they haven’t —

COULTER: That’s how we know it’s not a white man. I can tell you that much.

MAHER: You think they were repressing that reporting?

COULTER: They wouldn’t tell us about the, transgender woman that shot up the Christian school for, what, like a year? Oh, San Bernardino out here. Remember the crazy terrorist Muslims? That’s when I first noticed. Hmm, they’re not telling us who it is. It’s not a white male. The longer they go without telling you, it’s not a white male.

MAHER: OK well, for right now, as of Friday night, February 16th…

COULTER: We know.

MAHER: We don’t officially know. Okay, you know, you have special powers.

COULTER: We’ll see.

Watch the full exchange in the video below:

Real Time with Bill Maher/HBO

It's interesting to note Bill Maher's mocking of Ann Coulter as having "special powers" and the audience laughter, as if her claim is so outlandish. It highlights the left-wing bubble that Bill Maher and many on the left live in, refusing to consume any alternative media that might broaden their perspective and help them understand the double standard Coulter is referencing.

Any objective observer can see that the mainstream media jumps all over a story if the suspect is white, while downplaying coverage if the suspect is a member of minority group.

The fact that some of the suspects were minors was used as a convenient excuse to keep their identities hidden. While it's true that minors in Missouri who commit crimes enjoy more stringent confidentiality rules,^[4] juvenile court records for felony offenses are publicly accessible.^[5]

The media has never been shy when covering stories that involve white minors, like in the case of Kyle Rittenhouse or Nicholas Sandmann. Many people took to X to point out the obvious double standard:

"We can't reveal the names of the Kansas City parade shooters because they are under 18"

Oh really? Good to know. pic.twitter.com/DjGkfK4loQ
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) February 20, 2024

If you're a mass shooter at a Kansas City Chiefs parade, the media protects your identity because you're "under 18."

If you're a fan in face paint at a Kansas City Chiefs game, the media tries to ruin your life, calling you a racist at 9 years old. pic.twitter.com/zk7r0GDgsi
— Tim Young (@TimRunsHisMouth) February 20, 2024

If the KC parade shooters were white they’d be charged as adults, you’d know their full names, school grades, address and internet search history by this point. You know I’m right.

Murderous thugs are better protected than our borders.
— The Dank Knight 🦇 (@capeandcowell) February 17, 2024

Kyle Rittenhouse himself also called out the inconsistency:

I am trying to comprehend why the government was quick to reveal my name after I defended myself, but they still haven’t released the names of the Kansas City shooters.
— Kyle Rittenhouse (@ThisIsKyleR) February 20, 2024

Even now, after the shooters have been charged and their identities released, many corporate media outlets still won't show photos of the criminals in their news coverage.

Axios wouldn't even name the shooters, let alone show their photos. The shooters are simply referred to as "two adults." We'll also note that the photo they chose to accompany their article shows a chaotic scene of mostly whites, with very few visible minorities.^[6]

Source: Axios

The Athletic also refers to the shooters as "2 adults" in their headline, with an accompanying photo prominently displaying two white cops in the foreground. The article does mention both shooters by name, but doesn't include their photos.^[7]

Source: The Athletic

ABC News refers to the shooters as "2 adults" in their headline as well, with no identifying photos.^[8]

Source: ABC News

Finally, the New York Times plays the same game. White police officers in the headline photo, with no identifying photos of the shooters in the article.^[9]

Source: New York Times

Do you see a pattern? Left-leaning news outlets refuse to clearly report all the facts of a story when those facts might paint minorities in a bad light. This is especially true when it comes to gun violence, where the media would prefer to maintain a narrative of white, right-wing extremism as the primary issue.