THIS is the moment a TV journalist was shot live on air as she reported on the violent immigration riots in Los Angeles.
During her coverage of the protests for Nine News, Australian journalist Lauren Tomasi was struck by a rubber bullet at a short distance, causing her to collapse in pain while live on air.
“The LAPD are moving in on horseback and firing rubber bullets at protesters,” Tomasi told viewers, as loud bangs echoed across Downtown LA.
Suddenly, a police officer swung his weapon towards her, and a cloud of smoke erupted near the correspondent.
Caught on camera, Tomasi doubled over in pain, live on air.
“You just f***ing shot a reporter!” a furious protester screamed at police, as others rushed to help the injured Aussie.
Despite the shocking moment, Tomasi managed to yell back, “I’m good, I’m good.”
Although her network reassured the public that she was only left with some soreness and no serious injuries, the incident of a journalist becoming a target has stirred up anger and shock.
This incident follows another case where a British photojournalist had to undergo immediate surgery after being hit in the thigh by a ‘sponge bullet’ amidst the violent demonstrations.
Nick Stern, 60, from Hertford, said he had made himself clearly visible as a member of the press when he was shot while photographing a standoff between protesters and riot cops.
“I felt this horrific shooting pain impacting my leg. I felt down immediately and felt this large lump … protesters came to help and I was just saying, ‘Sit me down, sit me down’… then I blacked out,” he told The Times.
Stern, who moved to the US in 2007 and had previously been injured covering BLM protests, said medics later cut open his trousers and found a “giant hole” in his leg measuring 40mm by 60mm.
“The next thing I remember I was waking up and someone was pouring juice into my mouth,” said Stern, who is now recovering in Long Beach Memorial Hospital.
Describing the street-level anarchy, he said he saw a “car on fire” and a Black Hawk helicopter “dropping off ammo for ICE, boxes and boxes of it.”
Meanwhile, the violence has escalated throughout LA as protesters defy curfews and clash with authorities in protest against President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown and ICE raids.
Cars were torched, toxic gas filled the air, and rioters chained themselves to furniture in an effort to paralyze Downtown LA for a third straight day.
Makeshift barricades blocked key streets, while smoke bombs and fireworks flew.
Over 2,000 National Guard troops have been deployed and 500 Marines placed on standby.
LAPD officers, now authorized to use “less lethal munitions,” were pushed to their limits.
Earlier, more than 2,000 protesters stormed the 101 Freeway, stopping traffic in both directions as they waved flags and held aloft signs.
Stunned drivers were trapped for hours.
Elsewhere, two officers were mowed down by motorcyclists who drove straight through the crowd.
Both riders were arrested as the injured officers received urgent treatment.
Police reported being pelted with concrete, bottles, and even fireworks as they struggled to contain flare-ups near Alameda and Temple streets.
In another chilling moment, demonstrators paraded 3D-printed models of Trump’s severed head on poles.
Downtown near City Hall, riot cops on horseback clashed with furious crowds in a tense standoff, prompting a senior LAPD official to warn of a “rough night” ahead.
National Guard units were seen on the streets as fresh protests were expected outside City Hall.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned Marines remained on “high alert.”
President Trump, posting on Truth Social, lashed out at California Governor Gavin Newsom and LA Mayor Karen Bass, demanding an apology for the city’s lawlessness.
“These are not peaceful protesters,” he wrote. “They are troublemakers and insurrectionists.”
Newsom fired back, accusing the president of fueling the unrest with “dangerous rhetoric and authoritarian tactics.”
