Aussie reporter breaks her silence on the traumatic moment she was shot by police during LA riots
An Australian news reporter covering the Los Angeles riots has spoken about the terrifying moment she was shot with a rubber bullet fired by a tactical police officer.
Lauren Tomasi was reporting on the 'rapidly deteriorating' situation in the famous Californian city on Sunday evening, local time, when she was hit in the leg.
'I'm okay. My cameraman Jimmy and I are both safe,' she said. 'This is just one of the unfortunate realities of reporting on these kinds of incidents.'
After addressing the incident, an impressively professional Tomasi then gave an updated report on the unfolding events in the city.
'It has been a really volatile day on the streets of Los Angeles, and I do want to show you the scene here tonight,' she told Nine News.
Tomasi revealed she was in downtown Los Angeles, an area that had been cleared out by police.
A warning has been issued that 'if anyone moves through here, they will be arrested on the spot'.
'There has been a lot of tempers flaring here today and certainly tonight there is a lot of anger in the city of angels,' she added.
Tomasi had been telling viewers that 'the LAPD are moving in on horseback and firing rubber bullets at protesters' when the incident was caught live on air.
The US correspondent for Nine said police were 'moving them (protesters) on through the heart of LA' while several loud bangs could be heard in the distance.
Moments later a policeman was seen turning his gun towards Tomasi. A cloud of smoke appeared and she doubled over in pain.
'You just f***ing shot a reporter,' a protester yelled at nearby police as several other protesters stopped to ask the journalist if she was okay.
Tomasi could be heard yelling back: 'I'm good, I'm good', and Nine confirmed the reporter was 'left sore but otherwise unharmed' by the close-range shot.
Greens media and communications spokesperson Sarah Hanson-Young said the deliberate shooting of a journalist was shocking and 'must be called out in the strongest terms'.
She said the incident must be investigated and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese should call Donald Trump and ask for an urgent explanation or speak to him about when the pair meet in coming days.
'Trump is a threat to journalistic freedom and to democratic values and we cannot afford, as Australians, to sit by and see an attack on those values by US authorities shooting at one of our journalists,' senator Hanson-Young said.
'The Prime Minister needs to be very clear here, Australia is not going to stand by and see our journalists attacked for simply doing their job.'
Mr Albanese has yet to speak publicly on the incident.
Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles declined to comment on US immigration policy under Mr Trump, but said he was glad to hear Ms Tomasi was OK.
'At the end of the day, how America operates its own immigration system is really a matter for the United States, and how it manages its own internal law enforcement is a matter for the United States,' he told Sky News.
Protesters in the city are marching against President Donald Trump 's crackdown on illegal migrants and raids by ICE, Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Horrifying scenes showed cars erupting into flames and emitting toxic gases as rioters chained themselves to furniture and created blockades to grind Downtown Los Angeles to a complete halt as violence stretched into a third day.
Trump sent in 2,000 National Guard troops and placed 500 Marines on standby, while the LAPD has authorized the 'use of less lethal munitions' to regain control of the city.
The conflict has sparked a war of words between Trump and California Governor Gavin Newsom, who accused him of intentionally inflaming tensions.
Trump hit back with a Truth Social post on Sunday demanding both Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass apologise for the LA riots.
The president insisted those involved are not 'peaceful protesters' as the duo had claimed, but instead 'troublemakers and insurrectionists.'
Earlier in the evening, authorities faced an uphill battle to contain violence on the 101 Freeway, where more than 2,000 protesters commandeered northbound and southbound traffic.
Motorists were trapped in standstill traffic as the group marched with flags and signs high above their heads.
Officers in nearby Alameda and Temple reported 'people in the crowd are throwing concrete, bottles and other objects.'
At least two officers were injured after motorcyclists ploughed through rioters and ran straight over the top of authorities.
Both of the riders were detained by police as the officers received treatment from medical personnel on the scene.
Elsewhere, officers were reportedly struck by fireworks as they worked to break up a violent crowd.
As the riots continue, protesters were also filmed brandishing 3D creations of Trump's severed head on a pole.
At the Los Angeles City Hall, authorities on horseback were locked in a tense standoff with even more demonstrators, sparking fears from local law enforcement officers that they were in for a 'rough night.'
Further arrests were made throughout the Civic Center area of Downtown LA.
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