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Young filmmaker recording protests to get surgery after getting shot in the face with rubber bullet

ATLANTA — A recent college graduate now needs reconstructive facial surgery after she set out to document protests and got hit with a rubber bullet.

Mikaela Dyett told WSB-TV she got hit with a rubber bullet right in the eye as police tried to disperse the crowd at recent protests in Atlanta, Georgia.

Dyett said she was trying to record history when she became a part of it on May 29. The young filmmaker said she was filming protesters near Centennial Olympic Park, which is just steps from the CNN headquarters, which was recently defaced.

Dyett said she ran away as soon as police started using pepper spray, but the moment she was shot came out of nowhere.

“I don’t know, honestly, it just happened so quickly,” Dyett told WSB-TV. “I was shocked and I didn’t know that I would become the stories that I cover.”

Dyett will need to have surgery to repair her face and eye.

"I also have pieces stuck in my face that I will have to live with for the rest of my life," Dyett said.

Dyett's attorney, Miguel Dominguez, said they do not know which law enforcement agency fired the rubber bullet, but he is hoping someone has video of the incident.

“There was a lot of media out there,” Dominguez said. “We know law enforcement -- they’re supposed to have body cameras on.”

Dyett said this is not the way she wants her story to end.

"I want justice," Dyett said. "I want them to know the story doesn't stop after the protest.

Atlanta Police said their officers didn’t fire any of the less-lethal rounds that night.

Dominguez wants an investigation to determine which law enforcement agency did.

The image of the bullet injury may be graphic to some. See more at WSBTV.com.