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  • This video includes scenes of graphic violence.

  • It's a chaotic day in Santiago, Chile.

  • A photographer is using black-and-white film to capture a large anti-government protest and the authority's response.

  • He's near the center of the city when he faces a group of soldiers.

  • I got closer to see what was happening.

  • People started getting closer to the soldiers and throwing rocks at them.

  • The soldiers start shooting in the air.

  • I didn't realize that one of them had a shotgun.

  • I started taking photos of him.

  • Moments later, he's shot in the leg by pellets.

  • There's video of how the incident unfolded.

  • Chilean government rules say there must be a physical threat in order to use this type of ammunition.

  • But here's Palavecino Escobar with his camera.

  • Clearly, he's not a threat.

  • Here's when he's shot.... then hobbles away.

  • The 29-year-old says he wasn't doing anything wrong.

  • I never expected that a soldier would shoot at me for taking a photo.

  • It probably bothered him that I was taking a photo so close to him.

  • But this doesn't justify his action.

  • This is just one scene from the anti-government protests that have gripped Chile.

  • At least 20 people have died and hundreds injured.

  • Chile's security forces have been accused of misconduct and human rights violations.

  • We examined the police and military responses by reviewing videos and photos and talking to witnesses.

  • Some protesters have rioted.

  • But many more have been peaceful.

  • Early on, the president declared a state of emergency.

  • We are at war against a very powerful and relentless enemy who does not respect anyone or anything.

  • In our analysis, we saw instances of people being beaten, tear-gassed, and brutally arrested.

  • And one pattern: security forces shooting pellet rounds - or rubber bullets - against nonviolent crowds, like in the case of the photographer we mentioned earlier.

  • There's at least 400 of these pellet-related incidents, according to Chile's Human Rights Institute.

  • This kind of ammunition isn't intended to kill, but when fired at extremely close range, it can still cause serious or even fatal injuries.

  • Here's what some of them look like.

  • I was shot at close range.

  • On Oct. 22, journalists from Argentina's "Todo Noticias" were covering the protests in Santiago.

  • We see police being pelted by rocks and firing back at protesters.

  • And while on air, one of the reporters is shot by a member of Chile's national police.

  • Here you can see an officer taking aim.

  • Are you O.K.?

  • They just shot me with a rubber bullet.

  • They shot me with a rubber bullet.

  • That same day in Concepción, this man is out after curfew.

  • As the soldiers find him, the camera is rotated.

  • We've adjusted the footage to keep it level.

  • It appears he's told to stand still.

  • But the man continues walking towards a soldier.

  • A second camera then shows the soldier shooting the man in the leg at close range.

  • We spoke to police conduct and human rights experts, who said the man's refusal to surrender when confronted by the soldiers is grounds for arrest.

  • But they did not see a justification for the soldier to shoot the man.

  • As he is led away, a camera captures the bloody wound in his leg.

  • But it's not just journalists and protesters getting injured.

  • Back in Santiago one week later, a human rights observer was also wounded.

  • He was from the same group that has been documenting alleged misconduct by security forces.

  • And he was hit by six pellets.

  • The injuries were not severe.

  • But the fact that he was shot while wearing a bright yellow observer jacket shows that anyone at Chile's protests could be at risk.

  • The United Nations and other human rights groups have launched an investigation into the conduct of security forces.

  • Chile's president welcomed them, saying he has nothing to hide.

  • Hi. This is Nilo, and I'm one of the producers who worked on this investigation.

  • We spent weeks watching hundreds of videos on social media and connecting with sources in Chile.

  • The gravity of the situation hit me when we found a video showing a photographer who is shot at close range by the military.

  • He continued taking photos during the incident, even after he was injured.

  • We do this kind of work to dig into stories that are undercovered.

  • To continue supporting work like this, subscribe to the New York Times.

This video includes scenes of graphic violence.

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