Leah Hope, an award-winning reporter for ABC 7 News in Chicago, was attacked while getting into her car on January 2, near the State and Lake CTA station, leaving her with severe injuries. The incident, which Hope described as a fight for her life, occurred as she prepared to continue reporting on the impending closure of the train station.
According to Hope, 43-year-vintage Noah Johnson approached her vehicle as she was preparing to drive away. “Got in the car, put my seatbelt on, went to put it in drive, and he was there,” she recounted in an interview with ABC 7. Johnson allegedly attempted to pull Hope from the car, striking her in the process. “He was pulling me and hitting me,” Hope said. “I was just at a great disadvantage, and so I was honking the horn and screaming, and I just was fighting.”
The attack escalated when Johnson grabbed Hope’s lower jaw, tearing ligaments and ripping her tongue, she stated. “The worst part was as I was screaming, he grabbed my lower jaw, and then he was pulling me out of the car by my lower jaw, and that ripped my tongue from the bottom of my mouth, tore the ligaments from my jaw.” Four bystanders intervened, pulling Johnson off Hope and allowing her to safely enter her vehicle. Hope described the men as “my angels.” A woman at a nearby bus stop offered support, sitting with Hope after the attack.
Johnson briefly fled the scene, even walking past ABC 7’s State Street studio, before being apprehended days later after Hope identified him in a photo array. He has been charged in connection with the assault.
Hope was off-air for five weeks while recovering from her injuries. She has publicly expressed hope that Johnson receives the support he needs, while also emphasizing the need for greater societal attention to vulnerable populations. “We need to do more. We need to do better for people who have fallen through the cracks, people who are unhoused, people who are unwell,” Hope said. “The consequences of people not getting the support they need, it affects us all.”
Leah Hope joined ABC 7 in 1997, focusing on special investigations and stories impacting Chicagoans. Prior to that, she worked at KATU-TV in Portland, Oregon, and WISH-TV in Indianapolis, Indiana, holding positions as both anchor and reporter. She began her broadcasting career at WBOC-TV in Salisbury, Maryland. Her work has been recognized with numerous awards, including two from the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) in 2003, an Emmy Award for a 2002 special on the aftermath of 9/11, and a Gracie Award for her contribution to a program on women in science and technology.