Critics reacted with shock and horror after video footage showed a police officer appearing to aim right at 9 News Australia reporter Lauren Tomasi before shooting her in the leg with a rubber bullet while she was covering the protests in Los Angeles.
Tomasi was reporting outside the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles when she was struck by a rubber bullet as law enforcement began dispersing protesters condemning the Trump administration’s immigration raids.
She had been positioned on the same block as the city’s U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) field office, where police had declared an “unlawful assembly.”
She said during her report:
“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."
As the camera panned over to a line of law enforcement officers, one of the officers appeared to turn and aim his gun directly at Tomasi before firing.
Tomasi then cried out in pain and grabbed her calf, prompting a bystander to yell out, "You just f**king shot the reporter!" When someone checked in with Tomasi, she responded, "I'm good."
You can watch what happened in the video below.
After the incident, former Illinois GOP Representative Adam Kinzinger—one of the Trump administration's most high-profile critics, said the officer who shot Tomasi did so "point blank" despite seeing that she was a member of the press. He called for authorities to launch an investigation.
Others have reacted angrily, condemning the shooting.
After the shooting, Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade issued a statement declaring that “all journalists should be able to do their work safely."
In a statement, 9 News confirmed that Tomasi "was struck by a rubber bullet" and that she "and her camera operator are safe and will continue their essential work covering these events.” The network said the shooting is “a stark reminder of the inherent dangers journalists can face while reporting from the frontlines of protests."
Australian Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young called on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to seek “an urgent explanation” from the Trump administration. Albanese may have an opportunity to speak with President Donald Trump at next week’s G7 conference in Canada, though a formal meeting between the two leaders has not yet been confirmed.
That same weekend, British photographer Nick Stern was injured when a “sponge bullet” tore into his thigh as he documented a standoff between protesters and police in Paramount. Stern underwent emergency surgery. He noted that he had been clearly marked as press—his standard practice when covering hostile or high-risk situations.
