ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - By now, a lot of St. Louisans have seen the video longtime FOX 2 reporter Andy Banker posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, Monday night.
Banker, a long time reporter at Fox 2 News for over 20 years, posted on X him and his photographer, Brian Ledford, both getting struck by pallet while they were in South St. Louis to do originally do a story that Banker told Chris Rongey and Amy Marxkors on 'The Chris and Amy Show' was 'nothing contentious to make people upset or be angry.'
The incident took place around 12:45 p.m. on South Spring Avenue, near Chippewa Street, and while Banker was sending an email out on his phone, a car drove past them and the next thing he knows he hears a repetitive clicking sound.
"I look over my shoulder and they're shooting at us," said Banker. "I didn't know what they were shooting."
Banker says he was shot in the head but luckily wasn't seriously injured while Ledford did not get struck at all. However, Banker says that as soon as he was yelling at the car, he noticed his head was hurt.
"It really dawned on me 'Man my head hurts,'" said Banker. "What did they hit me with? I didn't even know."
Banker believes the incident was a stupid TikTok-related challenge involving pellet guns, something he reported on over a year ago.
"I heard some people were attacked or assaulted in this way and I figured that's what it was," said Banker.
Banker says he didn't expect the outpour of sympathy and concern for him from the St. Louis community to be as big as it was.
"I don't think it was merited," said Banker. "But it was pretty frightening. I guess it was a lot more scarier than I thought it was at the time."
