Tulsa multimedia journalist shot with pellet gun while preparing for live shot

Katie Keleher, a multimedia journalist with NBC-affiliated station KJRH-TV, was shot with a pellet gun while reporting in downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma, on March 16, 2022.

KJRH reported that Keleher was preparing for a live shot just before 10 p.m. near the corner of Reconciliation Way and Main Street when a group of people pulled up in a car. One of the individuals pointed a pellet gun out of the window and shot at Keleher and her photographer.

“We picked that area because as journalists, we think about our safety first, and I felt safe in that spot,” Keleher told the station. “All of a sudden, I felt something hitting my back and I just froze. Just little pellets and I just remember my jaw dropping and I just froze in fear."

Keleher, who did not respond to requests for further comment, wrote on Twitter that she was struck in the back with around five pellets, but that her photographer, whom she identified as Marisa, wasn’t hit.

“Thankfully, the puffy jacket I was wearing softened the blow. If not for that, I would probably have bruises all over my back,” Keleher wrote in a follow-up tweet. “It was an incredibly terrifying and traumatizing moment. I was just doing my job.”

The Tulsa Police Department said they are searching for a tan Nissan sedan in connection with the attack and released footage on Facebook on March 21 asking for the public’s help in identifying the shooters.

Michael Perry, senior director of external communication at KJRH’s parent company Scripps, told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that police have not updated the station with any information since the attack and it remains unclear whether Keleher was targeted as a member of the press.

According to Fox23, multiple individuals have been shot with pellet guns in recent weeks and the incidents may be part of a TikTok trend. The TPD did not respond to requests about whether the incidents are related or provide further information.