SPECIAL REPORT: Protesters injured by police last year are still healing from their wounds — but some never will.
Victims describe the lasting effects of broken bones, torn ligaments, scarred faces, and blindness suffered at the hands of officers. nbcnews.to/3oCTxMQ
Rickia Young was driving to pick up a friend from a protest in Philadelphia in Oct. 2020 when officers broke her windows and dragged her from the car.
Young says she suffered torn ligaments, an injury to her back, and lacerations to her face.
She was never charged with a crime.
“They treated me like an animal,” Young says.
“I can barely play with my son. If I try to run, my back will hurt. I can barely do everyday things. I can’t even hold a baby for a long time because my arm will give out on me.”
22-year-old Dounya Zayer says she suffered four herniated discs, two pinched nerves, a sprained ligament in her back, and a concussion when an NYC officer allegedly shoved her to the pavement during a protest on May 29 in Brooklyn.
“He walked away from it, but he ruined my life”
On June 4, Martin Gugino, who is in his 70s, suffered a fractured skull and concussion after police in Buffalo pushed him to the ground at a demonstration.
A Buffalo grand jury dismissed charges against the officers earlier this year.
Randy Stewart alleged in a damages claim that a Los Angeles police officer shot him in the back of the head with a rubber bullet, causing a brain hemorrhage, tinnitus, speech and vision trouble, and more.
Marqus Martinez is still recovering after being hit with a sting ball grenade in his face on May 31 in California.
His mouth was split up to his nose; he also suffered a broken jaw and concussion, per a lawsuit.
“He’s got years worth of recovery in front of him,” a lawyer says.
30-year-old Shantania Love is permanently blind in one eye because of what she believes was a rubber bullet when police began firing at a Santa Rosa demonstration in May 2020.
Love says she suffers from depression and severe panic attacks as a result of her injury.
It took 23-year-old Abigail Rodas weeks to eat and talk again after a Los Angeles officer allegedly shot her with a rubber bullet last June.
Doctors stitched her mouth back together and inserted a permanent metal plate to repair her fractured jawbone.
According to @NBCNews analysis of videos, photos, and interviews with university staff and students, at least 5 of Gaza’s 7 major universities have been destroyed or partially damaged since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.
Last March, Iowa police investigated a bomb threat targeting a junior high school.
They determined that the threat was a hoax.
But a detective from the police department had a theory about its possible inspiration: the ‘Libs of TikTok’ account. nbcnews.com/tech/internet/…
Officers and government officials in four other jurisdictions tell @NBCNews they believe the account has sparked threats in their localities with posts that digitally heckle people such as drag performers, LGBTQ teachers and doctors who treat transgender patients.
.@NBCNews identified 33 instances, starting in November 2020, when people or institutions singled out by ‘Libs of TikTok’ later reported threats.
The last time Bettersten Wade saw her son, Dexter — who suffered from mental illness — was March 5, when he walked away from their home with a friend. She reported him missing to Jackson police nine days later.
For months, Bettersten said, she asked police for updates, and officers told her they had no info.
She did her own search, visiting abandoned homes, asking around her neighborhood and posting desperate pleas on Facebook, begging Dexter — or anyone who’d seen him — to call her.
BREAKING: Hamas intentionally targeted elementary schools in Israel, instructed terrorists to seize hostages, move them into Gaza, and to "kill as many people as possible," maps and documents recovered from the bodies of attackers show. nbcnews.com/news/investiga…
One page labeled “Top Secret” outlines a plan of attack for Kfar Sa’ad, saying “Combat unit 1” is directed to “contain the new Da’at school,” while “Combat unit 2” is to “collect hostages,” “search the Bnei Akiva youth center” and “search the old Da’at school.”
Another page labeled “Top Secret Maneuver” describes a plan for Hamas units to secure two sides of Kfar Sa’ad. It says “kills as many as possible” and “capture hostages.” Other orders include surrounding a dining hall and holding hostages in it.
Former U.S. intelligence and military officers say tactics Hamas used in its attack indicate Iran most likely played a significant role in the Hamas attack on Israel.
The media storm came as the world was in the midst of a different pandemic — a novel H1N1 flu — and anti-vaccine activists were on the hunt for vaccine injury stories.
Jenny McCarthy’s group found her and offered a cure – if she would star in an anti-vaccine documentary.
The support didn’t last long. Desiree was outed as a “fake” by the same media organizations that had credulously reported her story. Generation Rescue stopped calling and left her with an anti-vaccine doctor’s $32,000 bill. nbcnews.com/news/us-news/d…