A Rhode Island news reporter was attacked this week while reporting on a recent shooting.
Abbey Niezgoda, a reporter for Providence’s ABC 6, reported this week that she was questioning the mother of a girl who was shot at a weekend graduation party when the attack occurred. When asked how she felt about he daughter’s shooter being caught, the woman, named Melissa Lawrence, became violent and threw a rock at the the ABC 6 cameraman. Lawrence then brandished a baseball bat at the news crew before sending two dogs to attack Niezgoda.
Niezgoda’s report emphasizes that the news crew was never on Lawrence’s property, and that they were attacked while standing on a public street. Niezgoda received medical attention for a dog bite on her forearm before filing a police report against Lawrence. The ABC 6 report states that police are currently obtaining a warrant for Lawrence’s arrest.