Hong Kong police shoot protester as flashmob rallies target peak hour
In the latest escalation of seething pro-democracy protests, a police officer shot an activist | VIDEO
A Hong Kong policeman shot at masked protesters on Monday, hitting at least one in the torso, and a man was set on fire during one of the most violent days of clashes in Hong Kong since pro-democracy unrest erupted more than five months ago.
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Protesters, who had already begun a city-wide day of action aimed at paralysing the international financial hub, reacted to the morning shooting by rampaging through train stations, barricading streets and vandalising shops throughout the day.
A masked assailant also doused a man with a flammable liquid and set him ablaze during an argument, with the horrifying scene captured on mobile phones and also posted online.
Police said a protester carried out that attack and they accused black-clad “rioters” of an array of other violent acts, including throwing a petrol bomb inside a train carriage.
Footage earlier showed a policeman drawing his sidearm in the district of Sai Wan Ho as he tries to detain a masked person at a junction that had been blocked by protesters.
Another masked individual then approaches the officer and is shot in the chest area, quickly falling to the ground, clutching their left side. Seconds later, two more live rounds are fired by the officer during a scuffle and another masked protester goes to ground, although the footage is less clear as to whether he was struck.
Police then detain the two people on the ground. A pool of blood can be seen near the first individual whose body initially appears limp. This person was later filmed conscious and even trying to make a run for it.
The second man was conscious, shouting his name to reporters as he was handcuffed.
A police source confirmed that live rounds were fired at more than one protester in Sai Wan Ho.
Hospital authorities said three people were admitted from the incident, one with a gunshot wound, who was in a critical condition. Police said that only one protester was hit and was in surgery.
At the end of the business day Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam held a press conference to denounce the violence and vow it would not lead to any government concessions.
“I am making this statement clear and loud here, that will not happen,” Ms Lam said.
She said the man set on fire was in a critical condition, and described the attack as “totally inhumane”.
Hong Kong has been up-ended by 24 consecutive weeks of huge and increasingly violent rallies, but Beijing has refused to give in to a movement calling for greater democratic rights and police accountability.
Tensions have soared in recent days following the death on Friday of a 22-year-old student who succumbed to injuries sustained from a fall near a police clearance operation the weekend before. The city has had four days of violent protests since Alex Chow’s death.
Using online messaging forums, activists had called for a general strike on Monday. Flashmob protests sprung up in many districts during the early peak hour, with small groups of masked protesters targeting subway stations and building barricades on road junctions.
After the shooting, crowds gathered to hurl insults at officers who responded with pepper spray and made arrests. Police defend their tactics as a proportionate response to protesters.
One video circulated by protesters on messaging channels from Kwai Fong district showed a police officer trying to drive his motorbike multiple times into protesters who had gathered on a road.
Unpopular police force
Monday’s shooting is the third time protesters have been shot with live rounds by police. The two previous instances last month came as protesters attacked police officers and the victims, both teenagers, survived their wounds.
With no political solution on the table, officers have been left to battle violent protesters and are now loathed by large chunks of the deeply polarised population.
Immediately after Monday’s shooting, crowds of locals gathered to hurl insults at officers who responded with pepper spray and made multiple arrests.
Police have defended their tactics as a proportionate response to protesters who have embraced throwing bricks and petrol bombs as well as vandalising pro-China businesses and beating opponents.
But an independent inquiry into the police has become a core demand of the protest movement, with public anger fuelled by weekly videos of controversial police tactics and aggressive interactions with locals.
In one incident which sparked uproar, a police officer on Friday evening shouting at protesters that he and his colleagues were “opening a bottle of champagne” after the death of the student.
The force said the officer was later reprimanded for his language.
AFP
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