‘Why Are You Shooting At Me?!’ CNN Reporter In Kenya Struck by Tear Gas Canister From Riot Police While On Air

CNN’s Larry Madowo was on location in Nairobi, Kenya on Thursday to cover the protests over President William Ruto’s new cabinet when he was struck in the face by a projectile while on camera.

CNN anchor Jim Acosta talked to Madowo after the incident, reassuring the audience first that he was “okay” before playing the footage. Madowo was seen reporting on the scene of riot police firing on “largely peaceful protestors.” As he navigated the crossfire, he grabbed his face and yelled out:

That was aimed directly at me. He’s aiming directly at me. He’s aiming directly at me… AGH! He’s shooting directly at me. Why are you shooting at me? Why are you shooting at me? Why are you shooting at me? There’s a flash bang there, watch out. He is still shooting.

Madowo was hit by a fragment of a tear gas canister. He explained more of the situation facing him and his crew as well as other journalists covering the protests against Ruto’s government:

[P]olice have been extra aggressive today. We’ve been covering these protests for the last two months, and today they’ve made sure that most of the city’s deserted. There’s been trucks like these all over the city. It’s supposed to be rush hour now, but it’s almost entirely empty because anytime two or three people gather, police have been quickly breaking them up with flashbangs, with teargas, shooting in the air.

But we are clearly marked as journalists, and I was just talking about one of the issues the protesters are angry about, which is police blocking their plates because then you can’t trace where they’re from, which police station, which police department. And the same truck that I was talking about that drove ahead of us, parked in front, and then aimed at least twice directly at me when I’m clearly marked as a journalist. CNN has reached out to the police to understand why we’ve been targeted. Other journalists have also complained about being targeted today, even though, Jim, the right to protest is guaranteed in the Kenyan constitution and the freedom of the media is also guaranteed in the Kenyan law.

Watch the video above via CNN.