Police have drawn guns for the first time in Hong Kong protests
As the protests in Hong Kong once again turn violent, police have drawn their guns for the first time since demonstrations started two months ago.
World
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In a frightening escalation of tensions in Hong Kong, police have drawn their guns for the first time after a small group of protesters attacked officers with sticks and rods. The police also used tear gas to disperse pro-democracy demonstrators who had taken over a street and brought out a water cannon for the first time, though it was not fired directly at protesters.
Following a protest march that ended in a park near Tsuen Wan, police and protesters faced off on a major street in the same district. The hard-line protesters had strewn a main street with bamboo poles, traffic barriers and traffic cones to obstruct police as a large crowd rallied in the park.
Police resorting to using tear gas after warning flags they had hoisted were ignored. Protesters responded by hurling bricks and gasoline bombs at the police. Protesters also shone laser lights at the police, and a few small fires were started in the area. Public broadcaster RTHK said one of its reporters saw a uniformed officer fire a shot into the sky.
Protesters have said that their escalating violence is the result of the police’s lack of response to their more peaceful demonstrations. Earlier on Sunday, tens of thousands of protesters carrying their signature umbrellas marched in the rain. They filled Tsuen Wan Park at the end of their march and chanted, “Fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong,” the South China Morning Post newspaper reported.
It’s now been two months since protesters started flooding the streets of the semi-autonomous Chinese territory demanding democratic elections and an investigation into police use of force to quell the protests. Protesters have also demanded that the city’s leader, Carrie Lam, who was chosen by a pro-Beijing committee, step down.
29 people were arrested on Saturday after a march in the Kowloon Bay neighbourhood in which a large group of protesters clashed with police. Offences included unlawful assembly, possession of offensive weapons and assaulting police officers, marking a return to more violent protests after a week of relatively peaceful demonstrations.
Originally published as Police have drawn guns for the first time in Hong Kong protests
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