Nick Stern was injured during the Los Angeles immigration clashes (Picture: AP) A British photographer has been injured while covering the Los Angeles protests. Nick Stern, 60, from Hertford, had his thigh pierced by a rubber bullet while taking pictures between the police officers and the protesters on Saturday evening as the city saw multiple clashes. The photographer, who has been living in the US for 18 years, told Metro he was taking images of two women protesters waving flags and the police when he felt ‘this shocking pain in my leg’ as he was shot by a high-velocity rubber bullet. Mr Stern, meanwhile, said he had made ‘a point of making myself visible’ and not ‘hiding around cars’ with his press ID and two large cameras with him. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Protesters waved flags as cars burned in LA (picture: Getty Images North America) Tensions remain high after Donald Trump called in the National Guard (Picture: Getty Images) He told Metro what happened after he was shot: ‘I reached down with my hand and could feel something solid in the back of my leg. I hobbled from the road, not knowing whether I was going to get hit again. ‘The protestors carried me away to the kerb and I felt my leg was getting wet. I didn’t know if the bullet included some liquid, but it was blood.’ He passed out while a medic cleaned out the ‘five-inch hole with muscle hanging out.’ In shock, he even tried to ‘go home and put a plaster on it’ before another journalist helped him to a hospital, where he was taken to a trauma unit and into surgery. A rubber bullet that pierced Nick’s leg (Picture: Nick Stern) The rubber bullet left a sizeable hole on Nick’s thigh and he remains in the hospital after surgery (Picture: Nick Stern) An X-ray at the hospital revealed the bullet was lodged inside his leg. He said he fears law enforcement could ‘start firing live rounds over people’s heads next,’ and he is certain marshall law will be declared soon. Footage shows how Australian Nine News journalist Lauren Tomasi was shot in the leg by a police rubber bullet while reporting in Downtown LA yesterday. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video In the video, someone in the crowd can be head screaming at the police saying, ‘You just shot the f…ing reporter’. Ms Tomasi’s cameraman can also be heard asking ‘are you okay’ as the pair quickly move away from the scene. Tensions in the City of Angels escalated further yesterday after Donald Trump sent the National Guard to the city over the weekend – against the wishes of the state governor. The president claims it is necessary to deal with ‘riots’ sparked by immigration raids across the city. Nick Stern said police were firing flash-bangs, and rubber and pepper bullets at protesters (Picture: ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock) British photographer Nick Stern said law enforcement targeted ‘everybody who’s at the protests’ regardless of whether they were throwing anything or not (Picture: Getty Images) But Governor Gavin Newson said local law enforcement were already handling the situation, and this was an attempt to ‘takeover’ from them in a move that is ‘purposefully inflammatory and will only escalate tensions’. He claimed: ‘The federal government is sowing chaos so they can have an excuse to escalate. That is not the way any civilized country behaves.’ Massive raids are underway in major cities across the US as part of Trump’s pledge to arrest 3,000 suspected illegal immigrants per day. The LA protests have carried on for three days after people stood against immigration raids (Picture: ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock) One in Los Angeles descended into chaos, as counterprotests led to multiple arrests, allegedly without warrants. As the federal government conducts chaotic immigration sweeps across the country, the state is deploying additional CHP to maintain safety on Los Angeles highways to keep the peace. It's not their job to assist in federal immigration enforcement.The federal government is sowing…— Governor Gavin Newsom (@CAgovernor) June 8, 2025 Two Home Depot stores, a clothing shop called Ambient Apparel and other locations were raided by ICE agents in the predominantly Latino city of Paramount. A protester waves a Mexican flag as a car is burned to the ground (Picture: Reuters) Police officers swoop in on downtown LA (Picture: Reuters) Downtown Los Angeles has been locked down, with police declaring it unlawful to gather there. Video showed police throwing smoke bombs and one officer tackling a protester. Hundreds gathered as tensions increased. The violent scenes sparked outrage online, and the Coalition of Humane Immigrant Rights said 45 people were arrested without warrants. Executive director Angelica Salas said: ‘Our community is under attack and is being terrorised. These are workers, these are fathers, these are mothers, and this has to stop. Clashes in Compton, Los Angeles, yesterday (Picture: Shutterstock) To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video ‘Immigration enforcement that is terrorising our families throughout this country and picking up our people that we love must stop now.’ ‘I am closely monitoring the Ice raids that are currently happening across Los Angeles, including at a Korean-American-owned store in my district,’ Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove said. ‘LA has long been a safe haven for immigrants. Trump claims he’s targeting criminals, but he’s really just tearing families apart and destabilising entire communities.’ Mayor Karen Bass said Los Angeles would ‘not stand’ for the violent scenes witnessed across the city. Around 30 agents wearing tactical gear were stationed near a Home Depot in Paramount and faced off against protesters, south of downtown Los Angeles (Picture: Getty) A Los Angeles Sheriff Department officer on top of a car during immigration protest on June 7 in Paramount, California (Picture: Getty) Police detained protesters at multiple locations (Picture: Reuters) Trump began his immigration crackdown shortly after re-entering office. In January, more than 500 arrests were made in one day before the first flights out of the United States began. The President issued an executive order, posted to the White House website, outlining Trump’s plan to prevent undocumented immigrants from ‘invading’ communities and costing state and local governments. And a policy which previously restricted officers’ abilities to arrest undocumented immigrants at ‘sensitive’ locations, such as schools, churches and hospitals, was rolled back. 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