A policeman has shot
at least one person during another day of violence and chaos in Hong Kong.
Footage shown live on
Facebook showed the officer drawing his gun before grappling with a man at a
roadblock.
Another man, wearing a
face mask, then approaches and the officer shoots him, hitting him in the
torso.
As the grapple
continues, the officer fires another two rounds – although it’s not clear from
the footage whether the bullets hit anyone.
There have been a
number of other flashpoints, with police firing tear gas and rubber bullets in
others parts of Hong Kong.
The shootings took
place as protesters tried to block a junction at Sai Wan Ho on the north-east
of the island.
Police confirmed that
one officer “discharged his service revolver” and that “one male
was shot”.
After being shot,
footage showed the protester lying with his eyes wide open and with blood
around him.
He is undergoing
surgery and is in a critical condition, a Hospital Authority spokesman told the
BBC. The spokesman said he was not aware of a second person being injured.
Authorities said that
at two other places, officers also drew their firearms from their holsters.
However, police denied
“totally false and malicious” reports that it ordered officers to
“recklessly use their firearms” in Monday’s operations.
It’s the third time
police have shot someone with live rounds since the Hong Kong protests began in
June.