Police Shoot at UCLA Protesters as Encampment Cleared

Police officers shot rubber bullets at University of California Los Angeles protesters while clearing a pro-Palestinian encampment at the university.

The incident comes as the Los Angeles Police Department was deployed to provide mutual aid to the university where a pro-Palestinian encampment was held. The situation turned violent when pro-Palestinian protesters and pro-Israel counter-protesters clashed on Tuesday night. Protests turned even more violent on Wednesday night and police deployed rubber bullets on Thursday morning. UCLA police and the California Highway Patrol (CHP) also responded to the scene.

Footage from Good Day LA showed what appeared to be CHP police shooting rubber bullets at the encampment. It is unclear if there are any injuries.

When reached for comment, the LAPD told Newsweek that UCLA police and CHP were the responding agencies. Newsweek reached out to UCLA police and CHP by email for comment.

Across the nation, protests against the war in Gaza have broken out, with demonstrators calling for organizations to divest from companies with ties to Israel. Hundreds of students have set up protest camps at colleges across the nation, including more than 100 pro-Palestinian student demonstrators that camped out on Columbia University's main lawn.

Law enforcement personnel have been deployed at several colleges in response to the demonstrations, including at the University of Texas at Austin last week. Israel and some of its supporters have called the college protests antisemitic and say they pose a threat to the safety of Jewish students.

On Wednesday, the LAPD announced that it deployed its officers to the UCLA protest in response to a request from the university.

"Last night, the Los Angeles Police Department, as well as several other state and local law-enforcement agencies, responded to the UCLA campus. UCLA requested mutual aid after reports of violent clashes between protesters. Once mutual aid resources were formed and coordinated, they separated the two groups," the statement said.

"No arrests were made, no force was used, and no officers were injured. The Los Angeles Police Department, along with other local law-enforcement agencies, will remain in the area to ensure public safety until the situation is resolved."

However, social media account @hoaxvstruths shared the Good Day LA live footage to X, formerly Twitter, in the early morning hours on Thursday that showed police officers deploying rubber bullets. It was unclear if the bullets struck any protesters.

"Happening now in UCLA. Imagine if the Iranian or Chinese govt shot bullets at unarmed students protesting a genocide," @hoaxvstruths posted. "Imagine the outrage and calls for a regime change."

Rubber bullets are solid, blunt-tipped pellets use to stun or disorient a target. They are considered a nonlethal weapon, but when fired at close range, they can injure their target by penetrating the skin, breaking bones or injuring organs, according to Healthline.

One person alleged that the LAPD shot a protester in the face while deploying the rubber bullets.

"LAPD just shot a protester in the [f******] face. A psycho with the 40mm gun is just pointing the [s***] at everyone. The center light is attached to the 40mm launcher," social media account @huntedhorse posted on X with a photo of the protests.

Newsweek could not confirm that a protestor was shot in the face at the time of publication.

Update 5/2/24, 9:54 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.

Update 5/2/24, 1:09 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.