Reporter Hit With Shrapnel At Campaign Event Attended By Kinzinger

HOLT, MO — A reporter was struck by a metal fragment at a campaign event Tuesday in Missouri attended by former Illinois congressman Adam Kinzinger, according to reports.

The reporter, Ryan Gamboa of KSHB 41 News, was covering the event at a home roughly 40 miles northeast of Kansas City when the fragment struck his arm while Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Lucas Kunce was firing an AR-15, the outlet reported.

Kunce, who is running to unseat Republican U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, bandaged Gamboa’s arm before the reporter went to a hospital for minor injuries, according to KSHB, which reported Gamboa was later released.

“Great day at the range today with my friend @AdamKinzinger,” Kunce, a former Marine, said in a post on X. “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. 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.”

Hawley responded to the incident with a slew of social media posts, including one that said, “I condemn all acts of violence against reporters and call on Kunce never to shoot another one.”

Kinzinger, a lieutenant colonel in the Air National Guard and critic of Republican former president turned candidate Donald Trump, announced in 2021 that he would not seek re-election to represent Illinois District 16. He was also one of two Republicans on a panel investigating the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol attack.

“What about the police on Jan 6? Condemn those acts of violence?” Kinzinger posted on X in reply to Hawley. “Also the reporter is fine and it was a fragment. Guess you don’t know how that all works.”

The Illinois State Rifle Association released a statement in the wake of the incident offering free gun and safety classes to Kunce and Kinzinger based on an assessment that the men fired at steel targets in close range with the wrong ammunition.

“Over the last several years, both Lucas Kunce and Adam Kinzinger have called for an 'assault weapons' ban, but the irony is that on Tuesday — they were caught firing the exact same type of firearm they want eliminated from gun collections,” the statement said. “This is hypocrisy at its finest.”