Live fire and emergency surgery Police shoot two journalists during protests in Los Angeles
A rubber bullet during a live broadcast, an emergency operation: the protests against the US government's immigration policy are also hitting the free press with full force.
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- Two members of the media were injured by rubber bullets during protests in Los Angeles against Trump's immigration policy.
- Reporter Lauren Tomasi was shot at by the LAPD during a live broadcast, even though she was recognizable as a journalist.
- Photographer Nick Stern suffered a serious leg injury and had to undergo emergency surgery.
Los Angeles is currently making headlines due to the escalating protests against the US government's controversial immigration policy. There have also been attacks on members of the media: Two journalists were injured while reporting.
For Lauren Tomasi, US correspondent for Australian broadcaster "9 News", a live broadcast turned into a minute of terror. While she was reporting on the escalation between demonstrators and security forces in downtown Los Angeles, she herself came under fire.
A video published on X shows a police officer firing at Tomasi - despite her clearly recognizable role as a reporter. "The LAPD is moving in with horses, firing rubber bullets," she explains into the microphone - shortly afterwards, she herself is hit by one of these projectiles.
Photographer undergoes emergency surgery - "I fainted"
British photographer Nick Stern was hit even more dramatically. He was photographing a standoff between demonstrators and heavily armed police officers when he was hit in the thigh by a rubber bullet.
"I felt this shooting pain and instinctively grabbed my leg," he tells the Times. Helping hands from the crowd pull him to safety - but Stern loses consciousness. The injury was so severe that he had to undergo emergency surgery. According to the report, paramedics discover a "huge hole" in his leg.
Trump's demonstration of power
It's not Stern's first time. He was already injured during the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020. But this time everything is worse. "I'm afraid it's going to get worse before it gets better," he says. The worry: the spiral of violence could continue - even to the point of using live ammunition.
The protests were triggered by raids by the US immigration authority ICE, which arrested undocumented migrants in Los Angeles. US President Donald Trump responded with a heavy hand: he deployed the National Guard against the wishes of California Governor Gavin Newsom.