{
  "id": 96,
  "slug": "2025-australian-journalist-shot-rubber-bullet-los-angeles",
  "title": "Officer shoots Australian journalist with rubber bullet during Los Angeles immigration protests",
  "occurred_on": "2025-06-09",
  "occurred_on_precision": "day",
  "ended_on": null,
  "jurisdiction": "US-CA",
  "country": "US",
  "continent": "north-america",
  "level": "municipal",
  "type": null,
  "tactic_primary": "detention_and_violence",
  "leader_slug": "karen-bass",
  "issue_of_the_day": "The protests followed a series of federal immigration enforcement raids in the Los Angeles area in early June 2025, which drew large crowds and a heavy police and, later, National Guard presence downtown.",
  "outcome": "unknown",
  "outcome_on": null,
  "outcome_note": "No investigation or disciplinary outcome regarding the officer who fired at Tomasi was reported in the source reviewed.",
  "granularity": "granular",
  "era": "2020s",
  "summary": "A law enforcement officer shot Nine News Australia correspondent Lauren Tomasi with a rubber bullet while she was reporting live from a Los Angeles protest against federal immigration raids, prompting Australia's prime minister to call the incident unacceptable and raise it with the U.S. government.{c:371}",
  "what_happened": "On June 9, 2025, Nine News Australia correspondent Lauren Tomasi was reporting live from downtown Los Angeles on protests against federal immigration raids when an officer behind her raised a firearm and fired at close range, striking her leg with a rubber bullet on live television. Los Angeles police reported dozens of arrests that weekend amid the unrest, but no agency issued a statement specifically addressing the shot fired at Tomasi. Tomasi said she and her cameraman were safe and called the incident one of the unfortunate realities of covering events like the protests. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called the incident \"horrific,\" said his government did \"not find it acceptable that it occurred,\" and said Tomasi had been clearly identifiable as a reporter, adding that Australia had raised the matter with the U.S. government.{c:371}{c:372}{c:373}",
  "stated_justification": "No law-enforcement agency issued a public justification for firing at Tomasi specifically; officers more broadly cited the need to disperse crowds during the unrest.{c:371}{c:372}{c:373}",
  "effect_on_reporting": "A foreign correspondent, clearly identifiable on camera, was struck by a less-lethal round while filing a live report, becoming one of several documented instances of officers firing on visibly identified journalists during the 2025 Los Angeles protests.{c:372}",
  "unknowns": "The specific law-enforcement agency and officer responsible for the shot were not identified in the source reviewed.",
  "status": "in_effect",
  "status_updated_on": "2026-09-22",
  "external_ids": {},
  "illustration_key": null,
  "pub_state": "published",
  "published_at": "2026-09-22T23:11:39Z",
  "reviewed_on": "2026-09-22",
  "next_review_on": "2026-12-22",
  "revision": 5,
  "created_at": "2026-09-22T23:11:34Z",
  "updated_at": "2026-09-23T00:08:50Z",
  "stage": "punish",
  "ladder_note": null,
  "country_name": "United States",
  "tactics": [
    "detention_and_violence"
  ],
  "leader": {
    "slug": "karen-bass",
    "name": "Karen Bass",
    "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/karen-bass"
  },
  "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2025-australian-journalist-shot-rubber-bullet-los-angeles",
  "page_meta": {
    "published": "2026-09-22T23:11:39Z",
    "reviewed": "2026-09-22",
    "sources": 1,
    "status": "in_effect",
    "statusAsOf": "2026-09-22",
    "unknowns": "The specific law-enforcement agency and officer responsible for the shot were not identified in the source reviewed."
  },
  "actors": [
    {
      "slug": "karen-bass",
      "name": "Karen Bass",
      "kind": "person",
      "role": "other",
      "role_at_time": null,
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/actors/karen-bass"
    },
    {
      "slug": "los-angeles-police-department",
      "name": "Los Angeles Police Department",
      "kind": "body",
      "role": "enforced",
      "role_at_time": null,
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/actors/los-angeles-police-department"
    }
  ],
  "outlets": [
    {
      "slug": "nine-news-australia",
      "name": "Nine News Australia",
      "relation": "affected",
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/outlets/nine-news-australia"
    }
  ],
  "journalists": [
    {
      "slug": "lauren-tomasi",
      "name": "Lauren Tomasi",
      "outlet": "nine-news-australia",
      "relation": "affected",
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/journalists/lauren-tomasi"
    }
  ],
  "cases": [],
  "related": [],
  "events": [],
  "claims": [
    {
      "id": 371,
      "subject_type": "incident",
      "subject_id": 96,
      "field": "occurred_on",
      "value": "2025-06-09",
      "statement": "Tomasi said she and her cameraman were unharmed enough to continue after being struck by the round.",
      "attribution": null,
      "source_id": 276,
      "evidence_quote": "I'm okay. My cameraman Jimmy and I are both safe.",
      "evidence_date": "2025-06-09",
      "method": "outlet_report",
      "verified_at": "2026-09-22",
      "confidence": "medium",
      "status": "current",
      "supersedes_id": null,
      "superseded_by": null,
      "supersede_reason": null,
      "batch_label": "v2-research-2026-09-22",
      "created_at": "2026-09-22T23:11:35Z",
      "source": {
        "id": 276,
        "url": "https://www.cbsnews.com/news/reporter-los-angeles-protests-rubber-bullet-lauren-tomasi-9news-australia/",
        "final_url": "https://www.cbsnews.com/news/reporter-los-angeles-protests-rubber-bullet-lauren-tomasi-9news-australia/",
        "title": "Australian reporter covering Los Angeles immigration protests hit by rubber bullet on live TV",
        "publisher": "CBS News",
        "published_on": "2025-06-09",
        "link_state": "live",
        "link_state_since": "2026-09-22T23:23:23Z",
        "wayback_url": null,
        "wayback_saved_at": null
      },
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/claims/371"
    },
    {
      "id": 372,
      "subject_type": "incident",
      "subject_id": 96,
      "field": "effect_on_reporting",
      "value": "Tomasi calls it a reality of the job",
      "statement": "Tomasi described the shooting as one of the unfortunate realities of reporting on this kind of unrest.",
      "attribution": null,
      "source_id": 276,
      "evidence_quote": "one of the unfortunate realities of reporting on these kinds of incidents.",
      "evidence_date": "2025-06-09",
      "method": "outlet_report",
      "verified_at": "2026-09-22",
      "confidence": "medium",
      "status": "current",
      "supersedes_id": null,
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      "supersede_reason": null,
      "batch_label": "v2-research-2026-09-22",
      "created_at": "2026-09-22T23:11:36Z",
      "source": {
        "id": 276,
        "url": "https://www.cbsnews.com/news/reporter-los-angeles-protests-rubber-bullet-lauren-tomasi-9news-australia/",
        "final_url": "https://www.cbsnews.com/news/reporter-los-angeles-protests-rubber-bullet-lauren-tomasi-9news-australia/",
        "title": "Australian reporter covering Los Angeles immigration protests hit by rubber bullet on live TV",
        "publisher": "CBS News",
        "published_on": "2025-06-09",
        "link_state": "live",
        "link_state_since": "2026-09-22T23:23:23Z",
        "wayback_url": null,
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      },
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/claims/372"
    },
    {
      "id": 373,
      "subject_type": "incident",
      "subject_id": 96,
      "field": "status",
      "value": "Australian PM calls incident unacceptable",
      "statement": "Prime Minister Albanese said the shooting of a clearly identified reporter was unacceptable and had been raised with U.S. officials.",
      "attribution": null,
      "source_id": 276,
      "evidence_quote": "we don't find it acceptable that it occurred",
      "evidence_date": "2025-06-09",
      "method": "outlet_report",
      "verified_at": "2026-09-22",
      "confidence": "medium",
      "status": "current",
      "supersedes_id": null,
      "superseded_by": null,
      "supersede_reason": null,
      "batch_label": "v2-research-2026-09-22",
      "created_at": "2026-09-22T23:11:36Z",
      "source": {
        "id": 276,
        "url": "https://www.cbsnews.com/news/reporter-los-angeles-protests-rubber-bullet-lauren-tomasi-9news-australia/",
        "final_url": "https://www.cbsnews.com/news/reporter-los-angeles-protests-rubber-bullet-lauren-tomasi-9news-australia/",
        "title": "Australian reporter covering Los Angeles immigration protests hit by rubber bullet on live TV",
        "publisher": "CBS News",
        "published_on": "2025-06-09",
        "link_state": "live",
        "link_state_since": "2026-09-22T23:23:23Z",
        "wayback_url": null,
        "wayback_saved_at": null
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      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/claims/373"
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": 276,
      "url": "https://www.cbsnews.com/news/reporter-los-angeles-protests-rubber-bullet-lauren-tomasi-9news-australia/",
      "final_url": "https://www.cbsnews.com/news/reporter-los-angeles-protests-rubber-bullet-lauren-tomasi-9news-australia/",
      "title": "Australian reporter covering Los Angeles immigration protests hit by rubber bullet on live TV",
      "publisher": "CBS News",
      "published_on": "2025-06-09",
      "link_state": "live",
      "link_state_since": "2026-09-22T23:23:23Z",
      "wayback_url": null,
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  "revisions_url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2025-australian-journalist-shot-rubber-bullet-los-angeles/revisions",
  "license": {
    "name": "CC BY 4.0",
    "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"
  },
  "cite_as": "Officer shoots Australian journalist with rubber bullet during Los Angeles immigration protests. The War On News, thewaronnews.com. https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2025-australian-journalist-shot-rubber-bullet-los-angeles. Retrieved 2026-09-23."
}