TV Reporter Injured at Campaign Event

Kansas City, MO (WorkersCompensation.com) – A TV news reporter was struck by a candidate’s bullet Tuesday while covering a campaign event.

KSHB reporter Ryan Gamboa was covering a shooting range event for Democrat Lucas Kunce when he was struck in the arm by shrapnel. Kunce, who is a Marine veteran running against U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., had been firing at targets when a bullet fragment ricocheted off one of the targets and struck the reporter in the arm.

KSHB said that Gamboa was taken to the hospital and treated for minor injuries and released the same day.

Kunce had been holding the event with former U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, an Illinois Republican. After the event, Kunce reminded gun enthusiasts to “always have your first aid kit handy.”

“Shrapnel can always fly when you hit a target like today and you’ve got to be ready to go,” Kunce said in a statement on social media immediately after the incident. “We had four first aid kits, so we were able to take care of the situation, and I’m glad Ryan is okay and was able to continue reporting.”

On Wednesday, Kunce told reporters the incident was an accident. Officials with the campaign said Kunce was visiting a home in Holt, Mo.

“Me and Adam Kinzinger were out there, and we were kind of taking turns on the range and it seems like a fragment off of either a target or a bullet ricocheted off and nicked a reporter in the arm,” Kunce told WDAF. “When we saw it, we administered first aid, put a bandage on him. He’s great. He seems like he’s fine. I talked to him last night.”

Clinton County Sheriff Larry Fish said the campaign reported the incident to law enforcement and it is being investigated. Several people were present, he said, and they are all cooperating with the investigation.

“This incident is currently under investigation, and all indications at this time suggest that it was an unfortunate accident.”

The Kunce campaign said the event took place at a gun range owned by a union member.

 “Lt. Col. Lucas Kunce (USMCR, 13 years active duty) was joined by Lt. Col. Adam Kinzinger (Air National Guard), a former Republican Congressman, at a gun range just outside of Kansas City, alongside about a dozen union members on the campaign trail. The range is owned by a UAW 249 retiree and is managed by a UAW member and NRA Training Counselor,” the campaign said in a statement.

His opponent Hawley was quick to use the situation to make a joke at Kunce’s expense, posting on social media: “I condemn all acts of violence against reporters and call on Kunce never to shoot another one.”

Hawley also quipped, “I know the Kunce campaign needed a shot in the arm, but this is taking it a little far.”

Recently named the “worst sitting Senator in the United States” by his hometown newspaper, Hawley is best known for giving a show of support to rioters prior to the Jan. 6th attack on the Capital, and then being shown fleeing the Capital building just hours later.

Kunce responded to Hawley’s attack with clips of the video footage, with the caption, “The last time Josh Hawley saw a gun.”

Journalists often face danger on the job. U.S. Press Freedom Tracker said there were nearly 160 physical assaults on journalists in the U.S. in 2020. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, at least 30 journalists were attacked in California in 2020. The attacks included physical assaults, arrests, and injuries sustained from crowd control measures used by law enforcement.

In March 2021, journalist Dylan Lyons, a freelance photographer, was shot in the leg while covering a story in downtown Los Angeles. Reports indicate that Lyons was covering the increasing number of hate crimes against Asian Americans when he was caught in the crossfire of a shooting. Lyons underwent surgery to repair the damage to his leg and is expected to make a full recovery.

And it’s not uncommon for journalists to be shot either. In June 2020, Adolfo Guzman-Lopez, a reporter for Southern California Public Radio, was hit by a rubber bullet fired by police officers as he was covering protests in Long Beach. The shooting left him with a bruised and swollen eye that required medical attention.

Journalists also may suffer from mental health issues such as anxiety, depression and pot-traumatic stress disorder as a result of their work. A survey by the News Safety Institute found that more than a quarter of all journalists surveyed experienced PTSD symptoms. In California, a study by the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma found that nearly a third of journalists had experienced some PTSD symptoms.

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