HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong police shot a teenager on Tuesday, the first time a protester has been hit by live ammunition during four months of demonstrations, as the Chinese-ruled city was rocked by widespread unrest on the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic.
In cat-and-mouse clashes that spread from the upmarket district of Causeway Bay to the Admiralty area of government offices on Hong Kong island, police were pelted with petrol bombs and responded by firing tear gas and water cannon.
Police said an officer shot an 18-year-old man in the shoulder in the Tsuen Wan area of the New Territories with a live round. Protesters have previously been hit before with bean bags rounds and rubber bullets and officers have fired live rounds in the air.
Verified video footage of the incident widely shared on social media shows a chaotic melee with riot police battling protesters wielding metal bars, before an officer fires a shot at close range.
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Article URL : https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-anniversary/hong-kong-police-shoot-teen-as-protest-violence-escalates-idUSKBN1WF2EI