Video: Australian journalist at LA protests shot by police with rubber bullet
An Australian reporter was shot by a police officer with a rubber bullet while she was reporting on immigration raid protests in Los Angeles. The incident was caught live on camera.Lauren Tomasi, US correspondent for Nine News, was covering demonstrations against immigration raids near the Metropolitan Detention Centre in downtown LA when she was struck.The incident took place when the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and national guard troops clashed with crowds protesting against Donald Trump's immigration crackdown on Sunday.advertisement
Footage shows Tomasi reporting live as the situation escalated. 'After hours of standing off, this situation has now rapidly deteriorated, the LAPD moving in on horseback, firing rubber bullets at protesters,' she said, just seconds before she was hit.Video from the scene shows an officer appearing to take aim at Tomasi and her camera operator before firing. Tomasi cries out and grabs her calf after the impact.A bystander is heard shouting, 'You just ****** shot the reporter!' Despite the injury, Tomasi responded to concerned bystanders, saying, 'I'm good.'In a statement, Nine News confirmed: 'Lauren Tomasi was struck by a rubber bullet. Lauren and her camera operator are safe and will continue their essential work covering these events. This incident serves as a stark reminder of the inherent dangers journalists can face while reporting from the frontlines of protests.'advertisementAustralia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) issued a statement condemning the incident. 'All journalists should be able to do their work safely. Australia supports media freedom and the protection of journalists,' the statement said.Despite the injury, Tomasi responded to concerned bystanders, saying, 'I'm good.'According to The Guardian's report, Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) issued a statement condemning the incident. 'All journalists should be able to do their work safely. Australia supports media freedom and the protection of journalists,' the statement said.Australian Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young called the shooting "shocking". "This is completely unacceptable and must be called out," she wrote on X.
The Guardian reported that Hanson-Young urged Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to demand an urgent explanation from the US administration, stating, 'The first thing he must tell the president is to stop shooting at our journalists.'Albanese may meet with Donald Trump next week at the G7 conference in Canada, though no meeting has yet been confirmed.Nationals Senator Matt Canavan, speaking to the ABC, acknowledged the seriousness of the footage, saying 'it looks like there was a targeting there,' but urged caution, stating a full investigation was necessary.advertisementGreens senator Nick McKim said the Australian government must 'make its displeasure at what happened abundantly clear,' and called for action 'at the highest possible level.'This incident follows the wounding of a British photojournalist, Nick Stern, during a protest the previous day, also in Los Angeles. Stern told The Guardian he was likely hit by a non-lethal round as officers used flash-bang grenades and crowd-control weapons.Geolocation from video footage confirmed Tomasi was shot at 257 E Temple Street, near the LA field office for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the focal point of the protest.The LAPD had earlier declared the area an 'unlawful assembly' zone and advised the media to 'keep a safe distance from active operations.'
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She called the National Guard deployment 'a dangerous escalation' and accused the administration of spreading panic. How This Compares to Past Events While the protests were violent, they did not reach the scale of the Rodney King riots or George Floyd protests of 2020. But the unilateral use of the National Guard marked a historic moment. The last time federal troops were sent without a governor's approval was in 1965, when President Lyndon B. Johnson sent troops to Alabama during a civil rights march.
