Reporters covering the riots in Ferguson last night were in as much danger as cops or other innocents. One CNN reporter was pelted with rocks and was forced to leave the air briefly to retreat to a safer venue. And a Fox reporter had his camera attacked by some nutcase in a Guy Fawkes mask.

Deadline:

It’s after midnight in Ferguson now but looks like reporters are still fair game for some. In the middle of a talkback with CNN’s Jake Tapper just a few minutes ago correspondent Sara Sidner was hit in the head by a rock that someone threw at her. “Sorry I just got hit by a rock,” said the tough reporter before going straight into describing the burnt out scene around her. “I’m OK, I’m OK, I’ve been hit by much worse in my day.” Sidner went on to continue her reporting but Tapper jumped in asking her “to get to safety” as more rocks were flying towards her. No stranger to Ferguson, the LA-based reporter has been covering the story in the Missouri town for the past two months. “People are asking me about my head,” Sidner was telling Tapper when she returned to the air at around 10:24 PM PT, unfortunately the link was lost before she could finish. (Sidner returned to the air about 5-minutes later, though she had to deal with some guys in the background who wanted to be on camera)

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Things got a bit rougher for Fox News’ Steve Harrigan tonight. The no-stranger to tough circumstances reporter went off the air for a few minutes after his camera was attacked in Ferguson. Just before 8 PM PT, Harrigan was reporting on looting at a liquor store when someone in the Guy Fawkes masks worn by protestors said, “Hey man, fuck you!” and knocked his camera to the ground. That kind of language has been heard clearly and repeatedly on FNC tonight, with hosts apologizing to viewers. The photo at right is what was seen live on FNC at the exact moment the camera was hit. Harrigan, who was walked through wafting tear gas earlier, was back on air at 8:10 PM PT reporting that “the only casualty was the camera” and shooting video of more looting with his iPhone.

Several reporters were forced to flee when tear gas cannisters landed close by. It certainly was a tough night to be an on-scene reporter, as cameras tried to capture the mayhem as it happened.