Australian journalist Lauren Tomasi was shot in the leg with a "less lethal" round while reporting on protests against US immigration enforcement in Los Angeles this week.
The Nine News journalist said she was "a bit sore but OK" after the incident.
Firing these rounds is just one of the crowd control tactics being used by authorities at the demonstrations against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations.
Here's what we know about the methods authorities use to control crowds.
'Less lethal munitions' authorised for use
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) authorised officers to use what it calls "less lethal munitions" in the protests over the weekend.
The word "munitions" can mean weapons but, in this context, it refers to ammunition — so, things like bullets.
According to Los Angeles police training documents, these include:
- 37 mm Multiple Foam Baton
- 40 mm Foam Baton Kinetic Energy Projectiles
What is a rubber bullet?
The above examples are the kind of ammunition people might call "rubber bullets".
But while the two above are made from foam rubber, police argue there's actually a distinction.
The LAPD told news agency Reuters that it did not use rubber bullets and instead uses foam rounds, a condensed sponge projectile that resembles a hard Nerf ball.
Both rubber and foam rounds are softer than traditional metal bullets.
Foam rounds are also fired from what the Los Angeles police call "Less Lethal Launchers" in another set of training documents.
What do 'less lethal' rounds look like?
That depends on the type of round being used.
The Los Angeles police use the following "less lethal rounds":
- 37mm Defense Technology Model 20 F Multiple Foam Baton Round
- 40mm Defense Technology eXact Impact Sponge Round
The 37mm rounds look like mini hockey pucks.
They weigh about 14 grams, with a height and diameter of 3.3 centimetres.
They're made from "foam rubber", according to the manufacturer.
Before they're fired, the 40mm rounds look a bit like roll-on deodorant cans.
Here's a photo of the rounds being carried by a police officer in Los Angeles on Sunday:
These rounds are 6.7 centimetres high and 4 centimetres wide.
They have a plastic body and a foam tip, according to the manufacturer, and weigh 30 grams.
How painful is being hit by a 'less lethal' round?
"Less lethal munitions may cause pain and discomfort," the LAPD wrote in a post on X.
The LAPD is forbidden from aiming the weapons at the head, neck, groin or spine of a person.
Reuters spoke to Isaac Siova, who was hit by a rubber bullet at the protest in Los Angeles on Saturday.
He was hit on the hip.
"It didn't really hurt," he told Reuters about first being hit.
But he said it started aching after about 20 minutes and showed a sizeable welt to journalists at the scene.
Tomasi, an Australian journalist for 9News, was shot in the leg from behind while filming a piece to camera.
She said she was "a bit sore" but "OK" after being shot.
Tomasi filed a report later that night, local time, standing in an empty street in Los Angeles.
She wasn't the only journalist to be shot by what her outlet called a rubber bullet.
British news photographer Nick Stern was covering the protests on Sunday when a three-inch "plastic bullet" tore into his thigh.
Speaking with the BBC, Mr Stern said he was standing in the middle of the road when he was struck.
"I suddenly got this terrific pain on my leg," he told the BBC's Three Counties Radio.
"There was something hard sticking out of the back of my leg and then it was getting wet from blood."
The journalist has since undergone emergency surgery and is recovering at Long Beach Memorial Medical Centre.
Are 'less lethal' rounds harmless?
No — they're designed to cause pain.
When using the 40mm round, officers are supposed to aim for around a person's belly button.
They're prohibited from firing at a person's head, neck, chest, groin or kidneys, "due to potential for serious injuries", training documents say.
What other 'less lethal' weapons are there?
Tear gas
Tear gas is a chemical compound that can render people temporarily unable to function by irritating the eyes, nose, mouth and lungs.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) notes that "riot agents" like tear gas can cause blurred vision, difficulty swallowing, skin burns, nausea and vomiting.
It's usually fired in a canister.
It is prohibited to use any form of tear gas in war under the Chemical Weapons Convention.
However, police around the world use it during times of civil unrest.
One of the more notable times US authorities used tear gas was during the 2020 demonstrations against police brutality, sparked by the killing of George Floyd.
Flashbang grenades
A flashbang is an explosive device that emits an extremely loud noise and bright lights to disorient people.
They can cause temporary blindness and shifts in hearing, typically lasting a few seconds, according to a paper in the American Journal of Operations Research.
US federal agents in tactical gear threw flashbang grenades to disperse an angry crowd near downtown LA on Friday as they conducted an immigration raid on a clothing wholesaler.
Pepper balls
Pepper balls are very similar to paintballs.
But instead of paint, they are filled with an oily, organic resin called oleoresin capsicum (OC), which is derived from chillies — which are called peppers in the US.
It's the same irritant used in pepper spray and comes in powder or liquid form.
With a range of up to 99 metres, they break on impact and release an irritant that causes a person's eyes to water and nose to run, as well as inducing coughing.
Police used pepper balls outside the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles on Monday after telling people to "clear the area" on a loudspeaker, CNN video showed.
In some cases, pepper balls can be extremely dangerous.
In 2004, American journalism student Victoria Snelgrove died after being shot in the eye with a pepper ball as Boston police sought to clear a crowd of revellers following the baseball World Series.
During the COVID-19 lockdowns, Victoria Police were forced to use a range of non-lethal weapons including pepper ball rounds and OC foam canisters to try and disperse crowds in Melbourne CBD.
Batons
Batons are essentially hand-held clubs.
Police officers use batons for crowd control primarily as a less-lethal tool for defensive purposes, according to Amnesty International.
Authorities could be seen swinging batons and striking members of the crowd in a video published by the New York Post.
Can these weapons be deadly?
Yes.
These kinds of weapons used to be called "non-lethal incapacitating weapons" by the United Nations (UN) back in the 1990s.
But it doesn't use the term "non-lethal" anymore, instead opting for the phrasing "less lethal".
"This term is rarely used today … because it is accepted that such weapons are not non-lethal in practice — they can, and do, kill," the UN Office of Drugs and Crime says.
Editor's Note (11/06/2025): This article has been updated to include the distinction between foam rounds and rubber bullets and comments from the LAPD.
