"It hit like a wall": Kiwi journalist tear-gassed after Aussie reporter shot as LA protests spiral into chaos

Veteran New Zealand journalist and documentary filmmaker David Farrier experienced firsthand the escalating tensions in downtown Los Angeles on Monday(June 9). While covering a protest outside the Metropolitan Detention Center, where federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducts mass arrests, Farrier was caught in a sudden wave of tear gas fired by the US National Guard.

“I inhaled a big pile of tear gas, and you shut down,” Farrier recounted: “It hit the crowd like a wall. You can’t breathe. It’s scary… Suddenly, everyone’s running.”

Farrier, known for his empathetic storytelling, described peaceful protests morphing into chaos within minutes: "It was all peaceful… then the National Guard… charged, rubber bullets pelted, tear gas canisters rocketed.”


He vividly communicated the fear, pain, and resilience he witnessed: “I could hear everyone’s unique cough… I cried, I think. It was weird…”

Australian journalist Lauren Tomasi was shot with rubber bullet

Just blocks away, another journalist was caught in the turmoil. Lauren Tomasi, US correspondent for Australia’s Nine News, was struck in the calf by a rubber bullet while reporting live on the same protests. She kept recording, reassuring viewers she was “a bit sore, but… okay.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese raised media safety concerns directly with US officials, labeling the incident “unacceptable.” Australia’s foreign affairs department echoed those sentiments, urging that "all journalists should be able to do their work safely."

Australian Greens senators Sarah Hanson‑Young and Nick McKim described the shooting as “simply shocking” and are demanding urgent diplomatic action.

What sparked the violence

The upheaval began earlier this week, when Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced sweeping raids across Los Angeles. At least 118 undocumented immigrants were arrested, triggering outrage and large demonstrations by almost 400 individuals from June 8–9.

President Trump deployed 2,000 National Guard troops and later marshaled 700 Marines to help enforce the raids.

Governor Gavin Newsom called the unilateral deployment "authoritarian," and plans to sue. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass demanded the raids stop, decrying the forceful response from federal authorities.

Federal agents, supported by local police and the National Guard, responded with tear gas, flashbangs, rubber bullets, accelerated arrests, and equine units. Protests, initially peaceful, turned violent as participants confronted heavily armed personnel protecting ICE facilities.