Video: Australian Reporter Shot At While Covering Los Angeles Protests

An Australian journalist was shot with a rubber bullet while reporting on the anti-immigration protests in the United States' Los Angeles, with the incident caught live on camera. Nine News US correspondent Lauren Tomasi was reporting on camera on Sunday when she was shot in the leg, the now-viral footage of the incident showed. 

In the video, Ms Tomasi can be heard saying that "after hours of standing off, this situation has now rapidly deteriorated, the LAPD moving in on horseback, firing rubber bullets at protesters, moving them on through the heart of LA".

In the background, a bystander can be heard telling the officer, "You just fucking shot the reporter!"

WATCH: “You just f*cking shot the press!”

Australian Journalist @LaurenTomasi shot by LAPD with rubber bullets live on air.

You can see him take aim directly at her. Insane. pic.twitter.com/r22X7m1rBo

— The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) June 9, 2025

Someone also asked Ms Tomasi if she was okay, to which she replied: "I'm good."

Meanwhile, Nine News, in a statement, said that both Lauren Tomasi and her camera operator are safe and will continue their essential work covering these events.

"This incident serves as a stark reminder of the inherent dangers journalists can face while reporting from the frontlines of protests, underscoring the importance of their role in providing vital information," the network said on Monday, according to a report by The Guardian.

Tensions in Los Angeles escalated on Sunday as thousands of protesters took to the streets in response to US President Donald Trump's taking federal control of California's state military to push soldiers into the country's second-biggest city, a decision deemed "purposefully inflammatory" by California Governor Gavin Newsom and of a kind not seen for decades according to US media.

The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) has announced that the entire Downtown Los Angeles area has been "declared as an unlawful assembly".

"You are to leave the Downtown area immediately," police said in a post on X.

President Trump has also ordered the immediate arrest of protestors wearing masks, as security force officials patrolled the streets on horseback and guarded federal facilities in riot gear. 

The development came after two days of confrontations during which federal agents fired flash-bang grenades and tear gas toward crowds angry at the arrests of dozens of migrants in a city with a large Latino population.

MR Trump has delivered on a promise to crack down hard on the entry and presence of undocumented migrants -- whom he has likened to "monsters" and "animals" -- since taking office in January.