Hong Kong police have confirmed that a protester has been shot with a live round in Tsuen Wan. He was filmed bleeding profusely from the chest during clashes on Hoi Pa Street.
A video filmed by the University of Hong Kong Student Union’s Campus TV on Tuesday appeared to show the man being shot at close range with a pistol during clashes with several riot police.
The incident occurred during citywide unrest as the People’s Republic of China celebrated its 70th anniversary.
Oriental Daily reported that the victim is in a critical condition.
The protester was given an oxygen mask by paramedics at the scene and was later hospitalised.
Local media reported he was taken to Princess Margaret Hospital. He was filmed conscious for a short period, saying: “My chest really hurts.”
RTHK reported that the protester was a form 5 student.
City-wide unrest
Tuesday afternoon marked the first time a person has been shot with a live round over the course of Hong Kong’s ongoing protests.
Officers also fired live warning rounds in Yau Ma Tei and Wong Tai Sin, although they do not appear to have injured any people.
As of 4:30pm, tear gas and other projectiles have been fired in six districts to disperse protesters: Wong Tai Sin, Tsuen Wan, Shatin, Tuen Mun, Tsim Sha Tsui and Admiralty.
On Hong Kong Island, protesters briefly marched further west after reaching the Civil Human Rights Front’s original destination in Central.
A heavy police presence at the China Liaison Office—Beijing’s office in Hong Kong—drove them back to Admiralty, where Harcourt Road was occupied.
After Molotov cocktails were thrown at police, the force deployed water cannon firing blue dye towards the protesters, and then tear gas.
Protesters also locked “hidden entrances” to Harcourt Road from the Central Government Offices—from which police emerged suddenly to make mass arrests during Sunday’s “anti-totalitarianism” protest.
The Sham Shui Po protest split to march both northwards towards Cheung Sha Wan, and southwards towards Nathan Road.
After protesters attacked police disembarking from a vehicle with bamboo sticks at the intersection between Nathan Road and Waterloo Road, an officer fired two live rounds as warning shots. Tear gas was later fired in Tsim Sha Tsui.
Around 4pm, the MTR shut down the entirety of the Tsuen Wan line as protests on the occasion of China’s National Day continued across Hong Kong.
October 1 marked the first time since the severe clashes on August 31 that the rail operator has shut down an entire line.
Clashes broke out again on Nathan Road as protesters threw dozens of Molotov cocktails. #hongkong #hongkongprotests #antiELAB 1/4 pic.twitter.com/w8H3w4FGgJ
— Hong Kong Free Press (@HongKongFP) October 1, 2019
Stations close to protest zones such as HKU, Sai Ying Pun, Lok Fu, Diamond Hill and Sha Tin Wai were also closed, after those immediately next to gathering areas such as Wong Tai Sin and Sham Shui Po shut down earlier in the morning.
After the Civil Human Rights Front’s October 1 march—an annual event—was banned by police, protesters decided online to launch a backup plan to gather in six districts, fearing the shutdown of transportation.
Riot police then chased protesters northwards into Mong Kok whilst deploying tear gas. #hongkong #hongkongprotests #antiELAB 3/4 pic.twitter.com/fTmttaxApf
— Hong Kong Free Press (@HongKongFP) October 1, 2019
Clashes continued in Wong Tai Sin, Tuen Mun, Tsuen Wan and Shatin, where protesters have set alight makeshift barricades to slow police advance, and hurled objects at the officers.
Since June, large-scale peaceful protests against a bill that would have enabled extraditions to China have evolved into sometimes violent displays of dissent over Beijing’s encroachment, democracy and alleged
Though the bill has been withdrawn, demonstrators are demanding a fully independent probe into police behaviour, amnesty for those arrested, universal suffrage and a halt to the characterisation of protests as “riots.”
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