Los Angeles protest: Journalist shot at during live broadcast in harrowing moment caught on camera

An Australian television journalist was hit in leg by a rubber bullet while covering the protests over immigration raids in Los Angeles, with a British photographer also injured as police used crowd-control rounds. A startling video posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, shows the moment the journalist is fired upon with rubber bullets while reporting on the ongoing confrontation between ICE agents and protesters.

Lauren Tomasi, US correspondent for Nine News, was reporting outside the Metropolitan Detention Centre in downtown LA when a rubber bullet struck her as officers began dispersing protesters, reports The Independent.

Nine said in a statement: “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 network called the incident “a stark reminder of the inherent dangers journalists can face while reporting from the frontlines of protests”.

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Journalist hit by rubber bullet during LA protests

Lauren Tomasim was struck by police-fired projectiles during escalating protests in Los Angeles this weekend, amid broader national unrest following President Donald Trump's immigration enforcement raids. A video posted on X shows 9News Australia's U.S. Correspondent Lauren Tomasi reporting live amid chaos.

As she delivered her segment, gunshots can be heard in the background, while protesters rallying against President Donald Trump’s deportation policies shout and hurl 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. 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." 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.

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California's Governor Gavin Newsom took to social media to urge people not to resort to violence, despite Trump's decision.

Unrest in Los Angeles over immigration raids

Police ordered the public to disperse from downtown Los Angeles after further unrest, with cars torched and security forces firing tear gas at protesters, in the wake of Donald Trump's deployment of National Guard troops to America's second-biggest city. Protests in Los Angeles broke out on Friday, triggered by immigration raids that resulted in dozens of arrests of what authorities say are illegal migrants and gang members.

Demonstrators told AFP the purpose of the troops did not appear to be to keep order, with one calling it an "intimidation tactic."

"You have the National Guard with loaded magazines and large guns standing around trying to intimidate Americans from exercising our First Amendment rights," protester Thomas Henning said.

California Governor Gavin Newsom called Trump's order a "serious breach of state sovereignty" and demanded the president to rescind the order and "return control to California."

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He also urged protesters to stay peaceful, warning that those who instigate violence will be arrested.

"Don't take Trump's bait," he said on social media platform X. Authorities declared downtown Los Angeles a place of "unlawful assembly" by late Sunday evening. Local media showed a heavy police presence blanketing mostly deserted streets in various areas.

A few protesters remained scattered, with some lobbing projectiles and fireworks according to local aerial TV coverage.

Trump called the protesters "insurrectionists," and demanded authorities "ARREST THE PEOPLE IN FACE MASKS, NOW!"

"BRING IN THE TROOPS!!!!" he wrote on his Truth Social platform