Sarah Jenkins shooting
Executive summary
The supplied reporting does not document a newsworthy event labeled specifically as the "Sarah Jenkins shooting"; instead, the sources reference at least three distinct Jenkins-related stories: Virginia reporter Sierra Jenkins, who was killed in a 2022 Norfolk shooting (multiple outlets) [1][2][3]; Chicago victim Kiara Jenkins, who was shot and killed in Woodlawn [4]; and an online urban-legend/hoax about a "Sara/Sarah Jenkins" scarecrow case that fact-checkers say lacks credible records [5][6]. The evidence therefore points to name confusion or conflation across separate incidents and internet folklore rather than a single documented “Sarah Jenkins shooting” in the provided material.
1. What the supplied sources actually cover, not what was asked for
A review of the assembled sources shows no article titled or centered on a "Sarah Jenkins shooting"; instead the corpus includes local reporting on Sierra Jenkins, a 25-year-old Virginian-Pilot reporter killed in a March 2022 mass shooting in Norfolk [1][7], a separate Chicago case involving Kiara Jenkins found shot in an alley near 64th and Drexel [4], and later online debunking of a lurid folklore story about a "Sara/Sarah Jenkins" turned into a scarecrow that researchers could not corroborate in public records [5][6], plus an unrelated BBC profile about a UK Sarah Jenkins who campaigned after a different terror incident [8].
2. Sierra Jenkins — an identified, reported homicide in Norfolk
Multiple mainstream outlets reported that Sierra Jenkins, 25, a reporter for The Virginian-Pilot and former CNN staffer, was killed after gunfire outside Chicho’s Pizza Backstage in Norfolk; police described her as one of two people who died and several who were injured, and journalists and family members were quoted about her work and life as the investigation continued [1][2][3]. Those pieces make clear she was “caught in the crossfire” and that police sought public assistance in the ongoing probe [7][1].
3. Kiara Jenkins — a separate Chicago shooting reported locally
Local Chicago reporting identified Kiara Jenkins, 36, as a mother of five who was found shot multiple times in an alley behind her home near 64th and Drexel as she was reportedly heading to church; the story has motivated a reward offer and community attention to find the person responsible [4]. This entry demonstrates how shared surnames can fuel confusion when readers seek a specific incident without precise names or dates [4].
4. The Sara/Sarah Jenkins scarecrow story — internet folklore and fact-checking
The supplied fact-check and debunking pieces trace a gruesome "Sara Jenkins scarecrow" tale to online creepypasta and social posts with no corroborating court records, newspaper archives, or official missing-person listings; investigators and fact-checkers found no reliable archival evidence to support that narrative and flag it as fictional or at least unverified [5][6]. This illustrates a common pattern: emotionally vivid urban legends persist online and are often recycled as alleged real crimes, complicating searches for legitimate reporting.
5. Implications, likely causes of confusion, and recommended next steps
Given the reporting provided, the most probable explanation for the query "Sarah Jenkins shooting" is conflation of similarly named individuals across three categories—an actual 2022 homicide of Sierra Jenkins in Norfolk [1], a separate Chicago homicide of Kiara Jenkins [4], and an online hoax about a Sara/Sarah Jenkins case with no documentary support [5][6]—so any further claim about a distinct "Sarah Jenkins shooting" remains unsupported by these sources; verifying the specific name, date, and location with law-enforcement records or trusted local reporting is the necessary next step, as the supplied material does not establish a separate, confirmed "Sarah Jenkins" shooting event [1][4][5].