Hong Kong police have fired tear gas in Central as crowds gathered on Pedder Street to protest during lunchtime.
The move on Monday came as the city reels from the shooting of a protester with live ammunition by a police officer earlier in the day.
Crowds formed on the main thoroughfare with many also occupying Des Voeux Road Central. Some formed roadblocks using construction bamboo while others heckled police.
Tear gas fired in the core place of Asia’s financial center, #Central, at the unarmed financial elites. #HongKong is dead.#PoliceState #PoliceBrutality #PoliceTerrorism #HongKongProtest #StandWithHongKong#HumanitarianCrisis@SolomonYue pic.twitter.com/sLes2LLnP5
— Please Liberate Hong Kong (@HongPlease) November 11, 2019
At around 12:30pm, police raised a blue flag, warning crowds that force may be used to disperse them.
A group of officers were filmed charging into the crowd and arresting one man, whose shirt was ripped apart during the incident.
Tear gas was fired at roughly 12:47pm.
Moments ago before the police fired tear gas at protesters on Pedder Street. Protesters were angrily shouting Murderers! Murderers!” to the police #StandWithHongKong pic.twitter.com/VIUr6QwjWg
— Missy Lao (@missy_lao) November 11, 2019
A man in a suit was reportedly hit by a tear gas canister and bled from his head, the University of Hong Kong’s student publication reported.
Citywide unrest
Hong Kong was shaken by fresh unrest throughout the day as protesters disrupted the morning commute as part of a larger plan to mobilise a general strike.
The strike was triggered by the death of 22-year-old student Alex Chow Tsz-lok who on Friday succumbed to serious injuries sustained near a police clearance of a protest last week.
Meanwhile, on Monday, tear gas was fired in multiple districts including Sai Wan Ho – where the protester was shot earlier – Choi Hung and Tseung Kwan O, where a canister landed outside a secondary school.
Police also fired tear gas and other projectiles, including suspected bean bag rounds, in the campuses of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the University of Hong Kong.
The city has been shaken by over five months of large-scale demonstrations against a now-withdrawn extradition bill. The focus of the movement has since shifted towards calls for democratic reform and accountability for the police handling of the crisis, as well as other demands.
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