WTAE anchor Wendy Bell is under fire on social media for posting comments about a shooting that some say are racist.
Bell originally posted the following to Facebook about a mass shooting in Wilkinsburg. Click here to see the story.
“You needn’t be a criminal profiler to draw a mental sketch of the killers who broke so many hearts two weeks ago Wednesday,” she wrote in an edited version dated 3/21 at 8:29 a.m. “They are young men, likely teens or in their early 20s. These boys have been in the system before. They’ve grown up there. They know the police. They’ve been arrested. They’ve made the circuit and nothing has scared them enough. Now they are lost.
A commenter pointed out Bell had originally written something else. TVSpy found the original after checking the edit history of the post.
“You needn’t be a criminal profiler to draw a mental sketch of the killers who broke so many hearts two weeks ago Wednesday. I will tell you they live within 5 miles of Franklin Avenue and Ardmore Boulevard and have been hiding out since in a home likely much closer to that backyard patio than anyone thinks. They are young black men, likely teens or in their early 20s. They have multiple siblings from multiple fathers and their mothers work multiple jobs. These boys have been in the system before. They’ve grown up there. They know the police. They’ve been arrested. They’ve made the circuit and nothing has scared them enough. Now they are lost. Once you kill a neighbor’s three children, two nieces and her unborn grandson, there’s no coming back. There’s nothing nice to say about that.”
Bell has worked at the Pittsburgh ABC affiliate since 1998. She anchors the 5, 5:30, 6 and 11 p.m. newscasts.
When one commenter wrote “I don’t know how to unpack this much nuanced racism in one sitting,” she responded, “I’m sorry you read it that way. That is not the case. What I wrote is realism. Not racism.
We asked Bell and WTAE for comment. We’ll update when we hear back.
There’s now a Facebook page dedicated to the issue called Demand WTAE Hold Wendy Bell Accountable. On its about page it says “Wendy Bell posted a racist post as a representative of WTAE. The station remains silent. We will not.”