ryan sorrell is the founder of the black-led independent newspaper the kansas city defender.and justice gatson is the executive director of reale justice network, a black women-led organization based in kansas city, missouri. we welcome you both to democracy now! ryan, your black-led independent newspaper has been leading the charge on this as the police department adamantly denied there was any issue until this moment escaped with chains. can you take us through this story? and not only her story, but she said to the woman who helped her that her friends were killed. >> absolutely. i think this is one of the most horrific tragedies that i have ever come across in my lifetime. i know when we first reported this story, we received from numerous community members who are making these reports, testimonies. the police department referred to them as rumors largely because they come from the black community but we reported this in mid-to-late september. rather than reaching out to us, gather more information about where we got this information from, rather than reaching out to the