A protester was shot by the police with a live round during Anti-Chinese demonstrations in Hong Kong as China celebrates its 70th anniversary.
While Hong Kong protesters have been shot by police with rubber bullets in past demonstrations, this is the first time that a person was injured by a live round.
Thousands of people participated in the protests in defiance of a protest ban for the 70th anniversary of the People's Republic of China. Prior to the protests, the Chinese flag was raised at a special ceremony in the territory.
There was tight security at a conference center where 12,000 invited guests watched the Chinese anniversary celebration on a live video feed. The clashes between the police and protesters resulted in 31 people injured, two of whom are in critical condition including the protester shot with a live bullet.
Videos of the shooting incident revealed that the protesters were using umbrellas and metal poles as they attack the police, one of whom discharged his weapon, while another video showed the injured protester, a student, lying on the ground saying "Send me to hospital. My chest is hurting, I need to go to hospital."
The protesters were armed with umbrellas, projectiles and petrol bombs while the police tried to disperse them with tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannon spraying blue dye to help identify them later.
Metro stations and shopping centers were closed down because of the protests as around 6,000 police officers were deployed in Hong Kong. The scheduled annual fireworks display was canceled earlier.
The Hong Kong protests have been ongoing for almost four months now, and students, like the protester who was shot, have been actively participating. The spur of demonstrations in the territory started due to the proposed changes to the extradition law. It has since been scrapped by Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor but other demands have not yet met.
