Lauren Tomasi, a 9News correspondent, was reporting live from a massive protest in Los Angeles on Sunday when a police officer behind her suddenly fired a round at her from close range. Tomasi, who was apparently not wearing protective gear, screamed in pain and grabbed her lower leg, as the cameraman pulled the camera away and backed away with the reporter.
You shot the reporter, a voice can be heard screaming in the background. Then the reporter's voice can be heard reassuring her crew:"Yeah, I'm okay, I'm okay." The shooting incident came after a stormy afternoon when the reporter and her crew found themselves in an area between a police precinct on one side and protesters on the other. People were ordered to leave the area, but the protesters refused to do so, she reported."We're safe here. It's just noisy. But you can see how quickly things are escalating."
Just before the shooting, she said into the camera: After hours of calm, the situation quickly escalated, LAPD police began to intervene on horseback, also firing rubber bullets at the protesters.
Speaking to 9News on Monday, the journalist confirmed that both she and the cameraman were fine."I'm fine, and so is my cameraman Jimmy. That's one of the uncomfortable aspects of reporting on events like this," she said.
Australian Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young has called on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to demand an urgent explanation from the US administration. Albanese is due to meet Donald Trump at the G7 summit in Canada next week, although the meeting has not yet been confirmed. Hanson-Young called the shooting of the journalist shocking and completely unacceptable.
"The first thing Albanese needs to tell President Trump is to stop shooting our journalists," Hanson-Young said. Press freedom is a fundamental pillar of a strong and functioning democracy.
Protests erupted in Los Angeles on Friday and continued throughout the weekend. Thousands of protesters blocked a freeway and set several vehicles on fire. On Saturday, Donald Trump, who has called the protesters rioters and rebels, sent about 2,000 National Guard members to the city, despite opposition from Governor Gavin Newsom. This is the first deployment of the Guard without state consent since 1967.
