Journalist Erin Schrode was shot by police with a rubber bullet while she was interviewing a Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) protester at Standing Rock Sioux Reservation on Wednesday, and video of the horrifying incident has quickly gone viral.
Schrode, one of the youngest people to run for Congress, was hit by a rubber bullet when police fired on the crowd as she was filming, the New York Post reports.
Schrode was interviewing a peaceful protester by Cantapeta Creek when she was shot without warning, causing her to crumble to the ground while the camera continued rolling.
Schrode has been at the DAPL protest covering the increasing violence by the police towards peaceful protesters. She posted the segment of the interview when she was shot, which was quickly circulated through social media.
“I was shot by militarized police WHILE interviewing a man on camera at #Standing Rock…and here’s the footage,” she posted.
During the interview, Schrode can be heard asking a protester, “What’s happening?” He tells her that he and his fellow protesters are protecting the water, as the camera shows other protesters in nearby water being maced by police.
“We’re water protectors, basically, that’s what we’re doing out here,” he says.
He continues, telling her why the tribe members believe they have a right to be on the site.
“They’re basically on ACE property,” he says, “which is Army Corps of Engineers land, and they shouldn’t even be up there.”
“We have every right, this is Sovereign Nation right here,” he tells the camera. “This is Sovereign people’s land right here.”
At that point in the interview, there is the audible sound of a rubber bullet hitting Schrode, and she can be heard screaming out. The camera then swings wildly and shows other protesters rushing to help the injured journalist.
News outlets such as the New York Post, Fusion, and AJ+ picked up the story and circulated the short video.
Schrode told Fusion that she was “badly shaken” after the incident. She said that she was at first confused by what had happened, only registering that she was in “excruciating pain.”
“I couldn’t fathom that I’d just been hit. Why would they target me? Why would they shoot anyone? There was absolutely nothing violent, aggressive, provocative going on at the protests yesterday.”
Rubber bullets can cause serious pain and injuries and can kill.
Schrode posted about the incident on her Facebook page Wednesday night.
She described the ordeal of being shot and the pain she was feeling.
“My body will be okay, but I am hurting, I am incensed, I am weeping, I am scared,” she wrote. “Peaceful, prayerful, unarmed, nonviolent people on one side of a river; militarized police with armed vehicles and assault weapons occupying treaty land on the other, where sacred burial grounds have already been destroyed.”
She described the scene at Standing Rock as “like nothing I have ever seen in my life, anywhere in the world” and wrote that she was proud to stand in solidarity with her Native brothers and sisters “who put their lives on the line and are facing excessive force, pepperspray and mace, historic trauma, brutal arrest, imprisonment in dog kennels, felony charges, and callous destruction of sacred objects.”
“This is a fight to protect and defend the water for 17 million people in the watershed downstream to the Gulf, for a livable planet, for Native and human rights, for the lifeforce of us all. We are at the confluence of the movements for civil rights, for the environment, for peace, for justice.”
Schrode also had harsh words for President Obama, the mainstream media, U.S. politicians, and the attorney general.
“It is inexcusable for the President Obama to say he will ‘let it play out for several more weeks.’ It is unjustifiable for the Attorney General to not be here. It is unconscionable for mainstream media to not cover this. It is indefensible for all politicians to not condemn what is occurring here. It is disgraceful for more people to not speak out and show up to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline.”
On her website, the journalist is described as “a citizen activist, social entrepreneur, and leading voice on millennials, sustainability and social impact.”
Schrode has reported for many mainstream media outlets in print and television. Her work around the world led the White House to describe Schrode as “a dynamic, passionate and ambitious young woman committed to creating big change everywhere she goes.” Some of her past projects include launching a youth education project in Haiti, writing curricula for an eco center for Palestinian, Israeli, and Jordanian students, and developing recycling infrastructure in Ghana. She recently has been working with Syrian, Iraqi, and Afghan refugees.
She has pledged to remain at Standing Rock to continue to cover the unfolding events.
[Featured Image by elbud/Shutterstock]