A Hong Kong student who was shot in the chest by police two days ago will face criminal charges for attacking officers.
Tsang Chi-kin was shot at close range as he fought an officer with a metal pipe on Tuesday on one of the most violent days of Hong Kong’s months-long protests.
He is the first person fired on by police since the protests began in June and the shooting has sent tensions spiralling even further and prompted further violent clashes in the city last night.
Social media footage captures the moment Tsang (left) was shot by a policeman during a fight in Tsuen Wan on Tuesday
The teen was shot in the chest by a police officer whose unit had been attacked by demonstrators, said a police spokesperson
Thousands of people have taken to the street to voice their anger at police and the government after the shooting. Pictured, demonstrators donning the Guy Fawkes masks wave Britain’s Union Flags during a rally to support the teenage on October 2
Protesters throw petrol bombs outside the police station of Tsuen Wan where the student was shot during a rally on October 2
One female protester holds a poster that reads ‘Don’t shoot our kids’ to denounce the policeman’s decision to open fire
Hong Kong residents raise their arms as they gather in their hundreds to condemn the police in Tsuen Wan on October 2
Police defended the officer’s decision yesterday, calling it ‘reasonable and lawful’. A spokesperson said the officer was facing ‘imminent danger’ at the time.
Tsang’s condition is said to be stable after surgery, but today police said he had been charged with rioting and assaulting an officer.
He is currently being treated at Queen Elizabeth Hospital and is not expected to appear in court today.
Police also shot a journalist in the face with a rubber bullet during protests on Sunday, it is alleged.
The reporter was covering the unrest for an Indonesian newspaper. She will have permanent blindness in right eye, her lawyer told reporters.
Police have urged the government to impose curfews to help curb the escalating violence in the Chinese-ruled city, where officers have become a target of protesters amid accusations of excessive force.
The city’s government is set to enact an emergency law to ban face masks at rallies, media reported on Thursday. Many demonstrators wear face masks to hide their identities and shield themselves from tear gas.
Activists went on the rampage in districts across the Asian financial hub late last night, setting fires, blocking roads and vandalising shops and metro stations as police fired tear gas to disperse them.
‘Wherever there are protests nearby I’ll come … I’m out tonight for a simple reason. You don’t shoot a teenager at point blank range,’ said Alex Chan, an interior designer at a protest in the bustling shopping district of Causeway Bay.
‘These protests will continue and we won’t give up.’
A group of protesters hold signs which denounce the police’s decision to shooting a protester during a rally on October 2
Hardcore protesters try to break into a shop on October 2 in Tsuen Wan where a student was shot by police on Tuesday
Protesters armed with wooden clubs and metal poles try to smash open the shutters of shops during a rampage on October 2
Police have urged the government to impose curfews to help curb the escalating violence in the Chinese-ruled city
A protester throws a Molotov Cocktail at the gates of the New Territories South Regional Headquarters, in the Tsuen Wan
Pro-democracy protesters break into shops in the Tsuen Wan district after breaking into the premises by force during a rally
More than 2,000 people chanted ‘No rioters, only tyranny’ as they filled an open-air stadium near Tsang’s school in Tsuen Wan district on Wednesday night.
Around the city many held posters reading ‘Don’t shoot our kids’ and held an arm across their chest below their left shoulder – the place where Tsang’s was wounded.
There were several peaceful rallies but some violent protesters clashed with police into the early hours of Thursday, throwing petrol bombs and starting fires across Hong Kong.
Some smashed Bank of China ATMs and others removed metal railings and dug up bricks from pavements to build barriers, blocking traffic.
Pro-democracy protesters hold placards and sing songs as they gather in a park during a rally in Tsuen Wan on October 2
Anti-government protests vandalise a shop after breaking into the premises by smashing through the shutter on October 2
A pro-democracy protester throws a Molotov cocktail at a police station in Tsuen Wan during a rally on October 2
Pro-democracy protesters setup barricades on a street during a rally denouncing alleged police violence on October 2
People attend a march in Causeway Bay in solidarity with the student protester who got shot by police on October 2
People attend a march in Causeway Bay in solidarity with the student protester who got shot by police with live ammunition
Anti-government protesters gather during a demonstration inside a mall in Sha Tin in solidarity with the student protester
‘The Hong Kong police have gone trigger-happy and nuts,’ pro-democracy legislator Claudia Mo said on Wednesday.
‘The sensible police response should have been to use a police baton or pepper spray, etc, to fight back.
‘It wasn’t exactly an extreme situation and the use of a live bullet simply cannot be justified.’
However, Hong Kong’s police chief Stephen Lo has defended the officer’s use of force as ‘reasonable and lawful’.
The officer had feared for his life and made ‘a split-second’ decision to fire a single shot at close range, the police commissioner said.
China’s state media has defended the police shooting as ‘totally legal and appropriate’. In a commentary yesterday, state news agency Xinhua one again blamed the city’s unrest on unidentified ‘manipulators’.
Anti-government protesters block a street during a march in Causeway Bay in solidarity with the student protester
Pro-democracy protesters throw Molotov cocktails at a police station In Tuen Wan after violence erupted at a demonstration
A pro-democracy protester throws a box of Molotov Cocktails at a police station in Tsuen Wan to vent his anger at the officers
A protester prepares to throw a Molotov Cocktail at a police station in Tsuen Wan with the help of other demonstrators
A masked pro-democracy protester prepares to throw a Molotov Cocktail at a police station in Tsuen Wan on October 2
Anti-government protesters wearing masks block a road during a march in Causeway Bay during a protest on October 2
Tsang, 18, was born after Britain returned Hong Kong to China and is part of the generation which is demanding greater freedoms.
Police made 269 arrests during protests on Tuesday, including 179 men and 91 women aged between 12 and 71. Among them, 93 were students.
Tsang was one of seven men aged between 18 and 38 to be charged with one joint count of ‘taking part in riot’, police said today.
The teenager, who is a fifth-form student, was charged with rioting and assaulting an officer and one 38-year-old man was charged with one count of arson.
The case is set to be heard in Sha Tin Magistrates’ Courts today.
Another four men and one women aged between 17 and 26 were each charged one count of possession of an offensive weapon. The case is set to be heard in Kowloon City Magistrates’ Courts today.
Criminal charges will be filed against an 18-year-old Hong Kong student who was the first victim of police gunfire in the months-long pro-democracy protests
A woman holds up an image of a policeman shooting another man outside the West Kowloon Court on Wednesday
One protester holds a signboard that reads ‘disband the police force now’ outside the West Kowloon Court on Wednesday
Students raise their hands and cover their eyes during a rally on Wednesday in reference to other protesters who were hurt
A demonstrators place their hand on the chest to show their solidarity during an anti-police demonstration on Wednesday
A schoolmate of Tsang holds a placard that reads ‘police mistreat and murder residents’ during a protest on Wednesday
A protester holds up artwork on a placard depicting Tsang being shot in the chest by police during rallies on Tuesday
Hong Kong returned to China in 1997 under the ‘one country, two systems’ formula that allows it to keep freedoms not enjoyed on the mainland.
China promised that the city’s ‘way of life shall remain unchanged for 50 years’ – but 22 of those years are gone and young people such as Tsang will see that deadline expire in their lifetimes.
Protesters fear Beijing’s creeping influence in Hong Kong and the protests were initially sparked by a controversial bill that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China.
‘It’s becoming a small town in China. That’s why we need to stand out,’ said one of Tsang’s former classmates.
He said Tsang, as a protest regular, advised others about how and where to demonstrate and gave ‘absolutely everything for this movement.’
A female classmate, tears welling in her eyes, said, ‘Just last Friday, we were sitting next to each other and chatting and now he’s been shot and in critical condition.’
The Hong Kong protests mark the biggest popular challenge to the rule of Chinese President Xi Jinping since he took power in 2012.
China has denounced the protests and warned about the impact on Hong Kong’s economy.