Student photojournalist hit with flash-bang shrapnel at LA protest

Ethan Cohen, a student photojournalist for California State University’s Long Beach Current, was struck in the arm by a piece of shrapnel from a flash-bang grenade while documenting a “No Kings” protest in Los Angeles on June 14, 2025.

The protest in downtown LA was one of hundreds of similar demonstrations held nationwide to counter a military parade attended by President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., marking the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army. It also followed days of protests in the city and nearby towns against recent federal raids, part of the Trump administration’s larger immigration crackdown.

Cohen told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he was photographing the protest when Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies began pushing demonstrators back and firing flash bangs.

He felt a jolt when a small piece of the crowd-control munition ripped through his flannel shirt and lodged in his right forearm.

“It was still hot; it was burning into my arm a little bit,” said Cohen, who pulled the fragment out and kept it.

He was wearing a helmet clearly marked “press” and had credentials visible. Cohen said he and other journalists were standing in a location where several press members had their backs toward the deputies.

“They did shoot specifically at journalists around that time,” he said.

Cohen said the incident underscored the challenges journalists face when covering protests, as he was caught between two areas blocked off by skirmish lines of law enforcement.

He said he was also exposed to tear gas, while other journalists in the area were hit with pepper spray and pepper-ball canisters.

“There were many spots where you couldn’t really escape, especially in that bracket of time where I was hit,” he said. “There weren’t directions where we could go to get out of trouble.”

Cohen said he suffered only a minor nick and burn from the flash-bang shrapnel, which left a faint scar. A few days earlier, he had also been struck with a ricocheting projectile while covering another protest.

In a statement emailed to the Tracker in June, the LA Sheriff’s Department said it prioritizes maintaining access for credentialed media, “especially during emergencies and critical incidents.”

“The LASD does not condone any actions that intentionally target members of the press, and we continuously train our personnel to distinguish and respect the rights of clearly identified journalists in the field,” a public information officer wrote. “We remain open to working with all media organizations to improve communication, transparency, and safety for all parties during public safety operations.”