Journalist shot by police during interview at 'peaceful' oil protest
A reporter was hit by a rubber bullet fired by police during a filmed interview with a protestor at peaceful demonstration against an oil pipeline in the US.
Journalist Erin Schrode was off camera while interviewing the protestor at Standing Rock in North Dakota – the site of a months-long standoff between police and the local Native American Sioux tribe.
Schrode's camera was rolling when the blast of the rubber round broke the air and struck her.
She fell to the ground writhing and screaming in pain.
It is not clear exactly which member of the police force fired the shot but a number of armed officers were seen standing in the background on the opposite bank of a river.
"I was shot at pointblank range, dozens were maced and pepper sprayed in the face, hundreds faced freezing waters," Schode wrote on Facebook afterward.
"There were no arrests or deaths and I will be okay physically, but the safety and wellbeing of many peoples and lands remain in danger, for present and future generations."
Protesters at the site have taken the name "water protectors" as they try to stop the construction of the oil pipeline they claim will damage the water table, affecting the supply of drinking water of more than 20 million people.
The Standing Rock Sioux tribe also claim the pipeline will threaten and destroy some ancient sacred sites on their reservation which sits less than two kilometres away from the proposed route.
Since their protest began several months ago, the people of the Standing Rock Sioux have been joined by members of the clergy along with hundreds of members of the public.
Hundreds of protestors have been arrested, with many claiming authorities used excessive force with some saying they were held captive in dog kennels.
