Australian journalist Lauren Tomasi hit by rubber bullet during Los Angeles protests
Australian journalist Lauren Tomasi, US correspondent for Nine News, was hit by a Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) rubber bullet while covering the LA protests over the weekend.
In a video that has surfaced online, Tomasi can be seen reporting outside the Metropolitan Detention Centre in downtown Los Angeles when a rubber bullet struck her as officers began dispersing protesters. Watch the incident that was caught live on air.
'After hours of standing off, this situation has now rapidly deteriorated, the LAPD moving in on horseback, firing rubber bullets at protesters, moving them on through the heart of LA,' she said on air just moments before being hit by the rubber bullet.
Just as she went on covering the protests, Tomasi suddenly cried. The video shows her grabbing her calf as a rubber bullet, used to disperse crowds, hit her.
'You just f****** shot the reporter!' a bystander can be heard shouting just after the hit.
When a bystander asked Lauren Tomasi if she was alright, she responded, 'I'm good.'
Channel Nine issued a statement informing that both Lauren Tomasi and her camera operator were safe.
"Lauren Tomasi was struck by a rubber bullet. Lauren and her camera operator are safe and will continue their essential work covering these events,' the statement said.
The network called the incident 'a stark reminder of the inherent dangers journalists can face while reporting from the frontlines of protests'.
US President Donald Trump ordered the deployment of 2,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles in response to escalating protests triggered by a recent wave of immigration raids.
The White House announced late Saturday that the troops will remain for 60 days or until Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth decides otherwise.
The protests erupted after US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) carried out large-scale operations across Los Angeles, arresting dozens of undocumented immigrants. According to a report by the news agency Reuters, 44 people were reportedly arrested on Friday. Officials have not confirmed if more arrests occurred on Saturday.
California Governor Gavin Newsom criticised Trump's action as 'purposefully inflammatory.' On X, he wrote, 'Trump was deploying the National Guard not because there is a shortage of law enforcement, but because they want a spectacle... Never use violence. Speak out peacefully.' LA mayor Karen Bass also condemned the immigration raids, calling them 'tactics that sow terror.'
Several footage from the protests showed federal agents in military-style gear using force to control the crowd. Witnesses saw protesters being detained, though authorities haven't released official arrest numbers.
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