Australian reporter hit by nonlethal round during live report from LA immigration protests

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NEWCASTLE, Australia (AP) — An Australian television journalist was hit in the leg by a nonlethal round Sunday while reporting live from downtown Los Angeles on the large-scale protests over President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown and subsequent deployment of California National Guard troops to the city.

Video of the incident released by 9News shows correspondent Lauren Tomasi, microphone in hand, reporting live when an officer behind her suddenly raises their firearm and fires a nonlethal round at close range. Tomasi, who doesn’t appear to be wearing personal protective equipment, cries out in pain and clutches her lower leg as she and her cameraman quickly move away from the police line.

“You just (expletive) shot the reporter,” a voice off-camera can be heard shouting.

Tomasi assured her crew she was okay: “Yeah, I’m good, I’m good.”

The shooting came after a tense afternoon in which Tomasi and her crew were caught between riot police and protesters. At one point, she struggled to speak over the sound of clashes, while a protester grabbed the camera mid-broadcast.

“They’ve told people to get out of this area, and protesters have been refusing,” she reported. “We are safe here. It’s just noisy. But you can see the volatility.”

Speaking later Monday to 9News, Tomasi confirmed she was safe and unharmed.

“I’m okay, my cameraman Jimmy and I are both safe. This is just one of the unfortunate realities of reporting on these kinds of incidents,” she said.

9News is part of Nine, one of Australia’s largest media companies, which operates across television, radio, print and digital channels. Its major platforms include free-to-air Channel Nine and leading newspapers like The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.

The demonstrations, which began with a few hundred people on Friday, had swelled by Sunday to thousands of people who blocked a major freeway and set several self-driving cars on fire.

President Trump’s sent National Guard troops to the city over the objections of Gov. Gavin Newsom, in the first deployment without state consent since 1967.