Canberra: The Australian government has offered aid to a television news reporter who was shot with a rubber bullet while covering protests in Los Angeles (LA).
Penny Wong, Australia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, said on Wednesday that the government has reached out to reporter Lauren Tomasi through the Consulate General in LA and is ready to provide “any assistance” she needs.
Tomasi, the U.S. correspondent for Australia’s Nine Network News, was covering the ongoing protests sparked by immigration raids in LA on Sunday local time when she was shot in the leg with a rubber bullet fired by a police officer.
Wong told Nine Network television on Wednesday that footage of the incident captured a “really awful” moment.
“Australia believes in a free media and journalists should be able to do their job safely,” Wong said on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Tuesday said that he had spoken to Tomasi, who he said was OK, and that the government has raised the “horrific” incident with the U.S. administration.
