CNN Team Flees from Tear Gas Attack While Covering World Cup Protests in Brazil

CNN reporter Shasta Darlington and her crew were sent running from tear gas during a live report amid the street protests in Sao Paulo, as the World Cup gets underway Thursday in Brazil.

Darlington was filming a report among the protesters making their way to the soccer stadium where today's opening match will be held, when police began a push back and fired tear gas into the crowd, sending Darlington and others running back out of range. 

"Protesters want to start get moving, and there's some pushing back as you can see, we may have, if they shoot the – gotta go," Darling said, followed by someone saying "It hit my arm." Watch the video from CNN:

Darlington continued her report a few moments later, but according to journalist Ben Tavener, CNN producer Barbara Arvanitidis was hit by a stun grenade and received medical attention:

"They shot the tear gas, this is obviously getting very tense," Darlington said. "It's clear [police] do not want protesters getting anywhere near the stadium. At this point we're 11 kilometers away – the idea is to march as close as they can get, but police have said they're going to keep a perimeter of at least 5 kilometers."

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Reuters reports that at least five people have suffered injuries in Thursday's protests. The Brazilian team opens the tournament against Croatia at 4:00 p.m. Eastern.

Police in Brazil have been preparing for civilian protests all week, as a majority of Brazilians are dissatisfied with their government and believe the World Cup has had a negative impact on the country. On Thursday, workers at three Rio de Janeiro airports joined transit workers in Sao Paulo in a partial strike against the World Cup, complicating an already strained transportation system. 

This article was originally published at http://www.thewire.com/global/2014/06/cnn-reporter-covering-world-cup-protests-in-brazil-flees-from-tear-gas/372662/

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