For over a month, the “Hathian Sniper” terrorized the city with a seemingly random series of shootings, which ultimately led to a curfew imposed by the HPD.
In mid-April, the Hathian Police Department touted the capture of the person known as “The Hathian Sniper.” The suspect: Leila J. Barnes, described as a “critic of the HPD.”
Several supporters took to social media, questioning the arrest. Her brother, Luke Barnes, adamantly defended his sister, pointing out that she has no prior history of gun violence nor does she even own a gun. A lengthy investiation of the “Hathian Sniper” saga, undertaken by The Hathian Observer, confirm that the advocates for Leila Barnes’ innocence had a valid reason to question the arrest.
In an exclusive interview with The Observer, Barnes came forward to tell her story. On the day of her arrest, Barnes claimed she stood on the street outside the Theatre where the final incident occurred. According to Barnes, Lt. Detective and Media Liasion Angel Moonshadow, “or whatever she’s called,” Barnes said, pulled up in a van, which also contained the real “Hathian Sniper” wearing a mask.
“They took me too the top of a building,” Barnes said. “I was dressed in the same clothes as the sniper, cuffed and thrown to the floor while the real sniper shot everywhere.”
After the shooting, Barnes said police were called while the sniper escaped and Moonshadow “took great pleasure” in arresting her.
While this account clearly beckons validation, an HPD source confirmed that the arrest was indeed questionable. The officer’s name has been withheld to protect their physical and fiscal livelihood. The officer described their own encounter with the the sniper during a rooftop chase.
“The girl they arrested wasn’t the sniper. I was face to face with her,” the officer said. “I saw the girl they accused. [The] body type was different, mannerisms, the way she carried herself. All different. I was half tempted to throw a gun at her and see how she responded. The girl they brought in, probably [would’ve] dropped it and ended up shooting herself.”
The HPD source indicated that anyone who could pull off this series of shootings would’ve had extensive experience in firearms and continued to allude to the shooter as a “she.” Still the question remains, who was really behind the Hathian Sniper shootings?
When asked to comment on this story, Lt. Det. Moonshadow had this to say:
“Have you lost your fucking mind [this reporter]? If you print that drivel there will consequences…consequences so serious and ghastly that in your darkest nightmare you would not even come close to imagining the depth of shit you will be in,” she wrote. “The HPD does not tolerate cockroaches who peddle lies and poison against us. You will be hunted down, rounded up and dealt with, publicly, and in a way nobody will forget or ever make the same mistake again. Think about it [this reporter]. There will be no mercy and no more warnings.”
