Reporter ambushed during live on-air transmission in the U.S.
In the thick of it all - reporting on-site amid protests and demonstrations - can be a dangerous game for journalists these days, especially in America. The latest instance of this? Australian correspondent, Lauren Tomasi, getting hit by a rubber bullet during a live broadcast in Los Angeles.
CNN, the famed news network, shared a video clip showing the exact moment when Tomasi, reporting for 9News Australia, was struck. Luckily, she managed to escape without major harm.
But not everyone has been as fortunate. Nick Stern, a British news photographer, was less lucky when he witnessed a confrontation between protesters and the police in Paramount, a Los Angeles neighborhood known to be inhabited predominantly by Latin American immigrants. A 14mm "rubber bullet" pierced through his thigh in the chaos, leaving him in need of emergency surgery and recovery.
These incidents have surfaced during the escalating protests against deportations in coastal metropolis LA after US President Donald Trump ordered the deployment of the National Guard and the mobilization of the regular military.
The Damaging Aftermath
Tensions have been running high, and the media, standing right in the eye of the storm, have become informal collateral damage. Journalists like Tomasi find themselves caught in the crossfire as authorities try to disperse protests.
Such scenarios are not isolated incidents. Just last year, in another incident, a group of journalists were subjected to aggressive behavior and thrown to the ground by police during a protest in Buffalo, New York.
The Bigger Picture
Protests against mass deportations and immigration raids have been intensifying across the nation, leading to confrontations between protesters and law enforcement agencies. The use of rubber bullets by police is a common crowd control measure, but incidents like these highlight the risks they pose to media professionals and innocent bystanders.
Stern's unfortunate encounter is a grim reminder of the dangers faced by journalists reporting on the frontlines during periods of civil unrest.
| Date | Journalist | Incident Location | Cause of Incident ||----------------|--------------------------|-------------------|----------------------------------|| June 8, 2025 | Lauren Tomasi | Los Angeles, CA | Police-fired rubber bullets during protest || | Nick Stern | Paramount, LA | Rubber bullet pierced through thigh during protest |
No, individual cases of journalists getting shot by rubber bullets during live broadcasts in the USA are not isolated incidents, as evident by the recent incident involving Australian correspondent Lauren Tomasi in Los Angeles. This occurrence follows a series of escalating protests against deportations and immigration raids, highlighting the risks posed to media professionals and innocent bystanders in the general-news and crime-and-justice categories, including the broader politics landscape.
