Halsey says she was hit by by pellets and shrapnel while protesting George Floyd’s death
‘I dont know how to articulate the horrors of today’
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Your support makes all the difference.Halsey says she was hit by pellets and shrapnel while protesting George Floyd’s death in Los Angeles.
The singer shared multiple posts on social media over the weekend, saying she and others were targeted by projectiles including rubber bullets.
In a now-expired Instagram Story post, visible on Variety, Halsey said she had been hit twice, “once by pellets and once by shrapnel”.
She wrote on top of a photo of police officers: “They opened fire multiple times,” adding: “We were gassed repeatedly for hours.”
In another Instagram Story post available on Stereogum, Halsey shared a photo of a bruise on her leg and wrote: “This hit me through layers of fabric and for that, I am extremely privileged. At close range it could have caused serious injury.
“They were fired at people’s faces during peaceful moments of the demonstration.”
On Twitter, Halsey shared photos of police officers at the protest, writing: “Fired rubber bullets at us. We did not breach the line. Hands were up. Unmoving. And they gassed and fired.”
In another update, Halsey said she had helped provide medical help to those who needed it during the protests.
“I don’t know how to articulate the horrors of today. NG + officers firing rounds into kneeling crowds. We don’t have enough medics on the ground on our side,” she wrote.
“I was treating injuries I am not qualified to. So much blood spilled. If you have med training pls go + standby outskirts.
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“And if you’re a white ally who is gonna stand and shout and antagonize the officers and NG and then hide behind black bodies when the shots start firing, f*** you. You couldn’t understand a shred of the bravery of the black folks at the front line. Thank you to everyone who stayed.”
The artist also said she assisted a man hit by a rubber bullet, writing: “Do not underplay these rubber bullets bc you have been told they are ‘not lethal’. I had to bandage a man who looked like his entire face had exploded today. So before you say, from the comfort of your home, that we’re exaggerating, please consider the injuries some have suffered.”
Floyd, 46, died on 25 May in Minneapolis, Minnesota, after a white police officer knelt on his neck. The officer, Derek Chauvin, has been charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter.