14 DAY TRIAL // CNN correspondent Anderson Cooper was attacked and punched in the head by pro-Mubarak protesters in Cairo, Egypt just hours ago. Though he was hit about ten times, the network says no one from his crew sustained serious injuries.
As the video below and the Huffington Post confirm, Cooper was trying to get to the neutral zone between the two groups when he and his crew were attacked.
He says his first impulse was to hit back, but he then reconsidered and only focused on making sure he and his men got to safe ground as soon as possible.
Word of the attack first broke on Twitter, when CNN’s Steve Brusk wrote, “Anderson said he was punched 10 times in the head as pro-Mubarak mob surrounded him and his crew trying to cover the demonstration.”
He did not offer more details, which, understandably, sent rumors swirling.
Cooper himself, once he got to safe ground, recalled the incident, making sure he mentioned the protesters had nothing personal with him or his crew: they thought they were taking pictures, but they weren’t.
“We never got that far,” Cooper said of his and his crew’s failed attempts at reaching the neutral zone between the two groups of protesters.
“We were set upon by pro-Mubarak supporters punching us in the head,” the CNN corresponded further said.
“The crowd kept growing, kept throwing punches, kicks... suddenly a young man would look at you and punch you in the face,” Cooper added.
His advice to any other media correspondent is to try and find a place where he doesn’t come in contact with protesters but that still allows him a good perspective on things.
Following reports of the incident ending up online, CNN issued an update saying “no one was seriously hurt” during the attack, the Huffington Post reports.
Another editor, this time from the Huffington Post, was “roughed up” today, says the same report.