Reporter shot by LAPD during live broadcast in harrowing moment caught on camera
A
startling video posted on X
captures the moment an Australian journalist is fired upon with rubber bullets while reporting on the
ongoing confrontation between ICE agents and protesters
. The footage, shared to X, features 9News Australia's U.S. Correspondent Lauren Tomasi as she delivers her report.
Gunshots ring out in the background as Tomasi reports, with protesters opposing U.S. President
Donald Trump
's deportation policies shouting and directing insults at federal agents.
At one point, Tomasi and her crew begin approaching the police line, prompting an officer to raise his rifle and shoot, striking Tomasi in the leg with a rubber bullet.
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Tomasi screams and clutches her leg, while her camera operator yells at the officers, "You just shot the f******* reporter!" The camera shifts to show protesters as the operator checks on Tomasi, asking if she is "okay."
"Yeah, I'm good," she replies, as she limped away from the action. "I'm good."
If you can't see the clip below,
click here
This comes as 2,000 National Guard troops were sent to the scene by Donald Trump, with recent reports suggesting that an additional 500 marines are on standby.
California's Governor Gavin Newsom took to social media to urge people not to resort to violence, despite Trump's decision.
"He's hoping for chaos so he can justify more crackdowns, more fear, more control," Newsrom wrote in an X post.
"Stay calm. Never use violence. Stay peaceful," he said.
Meanwhile, some members of the public have insisted that this is the beginning of a "civil war" in America, with some fearing that these scenes are set to become common across the country.
Writing on X, one user said "sadly LA looks like a scene from the 2024 Civil War movie," while another user asked: "Is the US now in de facto civil war or is that not yet what they call it?"
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Extra.ie
an hour ago
- Extra.ie
Australian news reporter shot at during Los Angeles protests
An Australian reporter has confirmed she is 'okay' and 'safe' after she was shot at during protests in Los Angeles over the weekend. Cars were set alight by protestors while federal agents used tear gas to break up crowds over the weekend as tempers flared in LA following ICE [Immigration and Custom Enforcement] operations. More than 100 people have been arrested, with 44 arrested on Friday on suspicion of immigration violations during raids carried out by ICE. Cars were set alight by protestors while federal agents used tear gas to break up crowds over the weekend as tempers flared in Los Angeles following ICE [Immigration and Custom Enforcement] operations. Pic: RINGO CHIU/AFP via Getty Images Sky News report that the raids saw street vendors and day workers 'rounded up,' with the operation prompting backlash from protestors who have chaotically fought back. On Sunday, rioters were seen setting fire to Waymos driverless cars, and celebrating the havoc by dancing on the roofs of cars, waving Mexican flags and chanting, 'burn, burn, burn.' The siege has resulted in the self-driving car company halting all services in and around the area. View this post on Instagram A post shared by 9News (@9news) US President Donald Trump has signed an order to deploy the National Guard in a move heavily criticized by Governor of California Gavin Newsom, who said the President wanted a 'spectacle.' The Governor has been vocal about his disdain towards the President, stating that the 'commandeering a state's National Guard without consulting the Governor of that state is illegal and immoral.' As tempers continue to flare, one person caught in the crossfire was Australian reporter Lauren Tomasi who is the US Correspondent for Aussie news channel 9News. View this post on Instagram A post shared by 9News (@9news) Lauren reported live from the violent scenes which saw a number of protestors verbally attack her and demand she 'report the truth.' Later in her broadcast, Lauren and her cameraman are away from the destructive scenes. Unfortunately, despite being away from protestors, Lauren is then hit in the leg with a rubber bullet by police. Thankfully, the reporter and her cameraman reported that they were both fine, with Lauren speaking to her 9News colleague Peter Overton, who was in the studio. 'I am okay,' she confirmed, 'My cameraman Jimmy and I are both safe. This is just one of the unfortunate realities of reporting on these kinds of incidents. It has been a really volatile day on the streets of Los Angeles.' Reporting from Downtown Los Angeles at the time, Lauren confirmed that the whole area had been 'cleared out' with citizens warned they will be arrested if they move through the area. 'There has been a lot of tempers flaring here today and certainly, tonight there is a lot of anger in the City of Angels.'
Irish Examiner
4 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Watch: Police car ablaze, journalist hit by rubber bullet in LA protests
National Guard troops were deployed to the streets of Los Angeles on Sunday (June 8) to help quell a third day of protests over President Donald Trump's immigration enforcement. Los Angeles police declared several rallies to be "unlawful assemblies" alleging that some protesters threw concrete, bottles and other objects at police. Video footage captured the moment a Australian journalist was struck by a rubber bullet on Sunday whilst reporting live during the Los Angeles protests. 9News reporter, Lauren Tomasi, had just delivered a piece to camera for viewers in Australia when an armed police officer in riot gear behind her shot her with a rubber bullet.
RTÉ News
4 hours ago
- RTÉ News
'Bring in the troops', says Trump as LA anti-ICE protests spread to San Francisco
Police have declared all of downtown Los Angeles to be an unlawful assembly area and ordered protesters to go home after a third day of violence hit demonstrations against President Donald Trump's immigration policy. National Guard troops - deployed by Mr Trump at the weekend to help quell the protests in a move that California Governor Gavin Newsom called unlawful - guarded federal government buildings yesterday. The unrest in Los Angeles has become a major flashpoint in Mr Trump's signature effort to clamp down on illegal immigration. About 60 people were also arrested in San Francisco, police said, after demonstrators in the northern Californian city gathered to protest against the immigration raids. San Francisco police "declared an unlawful assembly," they said on social media platform X. "Approximately 60 people were arrested, including juveniles." The Republican president has pledged to deport record numbers of people who are in the country illegally and to lockdown the US-Mexico border, setting the border enforcement agency ICE a daily goal of arresting at least 3,000 migrants. California state and local officials, mainly Democrats, accuse Mr Trump of inflaming initially small-scale protests by mounting a federal response. He calls the protesters insurrectionists. Several self-driving cars from Alphabet's Waymo were set ablaze on a downtown street yesterday evening. Los Angeles police said some protesters had thrown concrete projectiles, bottles and other items at police. Police declared several rallies to be unlawful assemblies and later extended that to include the whole downtown area. Police on horseback tried to control the crowds. Demonstrators shouted "Shame on you!" at police and some appeared to throw objects, video images showed. One group blocked the 101 Freeway, a major downtown thoroughfare. City Police Chief Jim McDonnell told a media briefing that people had a right to protest peacefully but the violence he had seen by some was "disgusting" and the protests were getting out of control. I have formally requested the Trump Administration rescind their unlawful deployment of troops in Los Angeles county and return them to my command. We didn't have a problem until Trump got involved. This is a serious breach of state sovereignty — inflaming tensions while… — Governor Gavin Newsom (@CAgovernor) June 8, 2025 Police said they had arrested 10 people last night and 29 the previous night, adding arrests were continuing. California Governor Newsom, a Democrat, said he requested the Trump administration to withdraw its order to deploy 2,000 National Guard troops in Los Angeles County, calling it unlawful. Mr Newsom said in an interview with MSNBC he planned to sue the administration over the deployment, adding that Mr Trump "has created the conditions" around the protests. He accused the president of trying to manufacture a crisis and of violating California's state sovereignty. Asked if the National Guard was needed, Chief McDonnell said police would not "go to that right away," but added, "Looking at the violence tonight, I think we've got to make a reassessment". In a social media post, Mr Trump called on Chief McDonnell to do so. "Looking really bad in LA, bring in the troops," Mr Trump said. "He should, right now!!!" Mr Trump added. "Don't let these thugs get away with this. Make America great again!!!" The White House disputed Mr Newsom's characterisation, saying in a statement, "Everyone saw the chaos, violence and lawlessness." Earlier yesterday, about a dozen National Guard members, along with Department of Homeland Security personnel, pushed back a group of demonstrators outside a federal building in downtown Los Angeles, video showed. The US Northern Command said 300 members of the California National Guard had been deployed to three spots in the Los Angeles area. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said that the National Guard would provide safety around buildings to people engaged in peaceful protest and to law enforcement. In a social media post, Mr Trump called the demonstrators "violent, insurrectionist mobs" and said he was directing his cabinet officers "to take all such action necessary" to stop what he called riots. Despite Mr Trump's language, he has not invoked the Insurrection Act, an 1807 law that empowers a president to deploy the US military to suppress events like civil disorder. Asked whether he was considering doing so, he said, "It depends on whether or not there's an insurrection." Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Saturday the Pentagon is prepared to mobilise active-duty troops "if violence continues" in Los Angeles, saying marines at nearby Camp Pendleton were on high alert. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass blamed the Trump administration for inciting tension by sending in the National Guard. She also condemned protesters who became violent. "I don't want people to fall into the chaos that I believe is being created by the administration completely unnecessarily," she told a press conference. Vanessa Cardenas, head of the immigration advocacy group America's Voice, accused the Trump administration of "trumping up an excuse to abuse power, and deliberately stoke and force confrontations around immigration."
