Here is something that you NewsBusters fans can help me with because I am having difficulty deciding what is going on with this one. We have a shooting incident in Minnesota perpetrated by three Muslim Somali immigrants but for some reason almost every single media report about the incident omits the names of the shooters, names of obvious North African or ethnic origin. So, the question is, did the Old Media in Minnesota purposefully leave the names unreported so that they could cover up the fact that the criminals were Somali immigrants? And, if so, why would they do this?
We start with the Minneapolis Star Tribune that reports that "three suspects were in jail Sunday following a shooting in Lakeville that injured four other people." Apparently one of those arrested took umbrage at being told to leave a party and began shooting up the place as he and his friends left. But, all we get from the StarTrib is "three suspects." No names or descriptions.
Several TV reports are also empty of the names of those arrested for the crime. (Fox 12, KEYC, KARE Channel 11, and KSTP News 5 all skip the naming of those arrested.)
Even the Associated Press skips naming the perpetrators.
It isn't until the Saint Paul paper, the Pioneer Press, covers the story that we get the names of the "three suspects." It turns out those jailed by Lakeland police were "Mohamud Ahmed Hassan, 19, and Hamad Ahmad Issak, 21," and that a teen named Jibril Farah Mohamed who was connected to them. Jibril Farah Mohammed was released without being charged.
Why is it that only one news source listed the names of the arrested? Was it because the perpetrators were Somalis? If so, why wouldn't the news want these Somalis identified or even described? Are they as reticent to name other suspects in other reports? Especially in an area that has had recent problems between the Somali immigrant community and other residents, one would think that the names would seem relevant to the story of the greater community situation there.
So, what do you all think? Is this odd, or perfectly understandable?
