Warning Shot Fired As Protests Turn Violent

Impromptu memorials held across Hong Kong for a student who died on Friday morning turned ugly in the evening, with protesters throwing bricks at police, blocking roads and setting fires, while an officer reportedly fired a warning shot in Yau Ma Tei and deployed tear gas in Aberdeen and Tsuen Wan.

Tens of thousands of mourners had been gathering at multiple locations across the territory to pay tribute to 22 year-old Chow Tsz-lok, who’s thought to be the first direct fatality in the Hong Kong protests.

Many blame police for his death, accusing officers of delaying ambulancemen from reaching the student in Tseung Kwan O early on Monday morning. Others have accused officers of chasing him before he apparently fell from the third floor of a carpark to the second floor.

Police have strenuously denied this, saying new CCTV footage shows Chow walking alone for more than half an hour in and around the carpark before walking towards the spot he’s believed to have fallen from.

Mourners and protesters alike dismissed the police explanations, and vented their rage by blocking roads and setting fires in multiple locations.

A police officer reportedly fired a warning shot into the sky in Yau Ma Tei, at the intersection of Pitt Street and Jordan Road on Friday evening, after he was apparently surrounded by protesters.

Nearby in Mong Kok, fires were set and an entire telephone booth was toppled. A TVB cameraman was surrounded by some people, who damaged his camera.

Riot police soon arrived to confront the crowd, and repeatedly unfurled black flags warning of the imminent use of tear gas, though they did not actually deploy them.

Police did fire tear gas several times in Tsuen Wan, where large crowds had gathered.

In Aberdeen, tear gas was used on Aberdeen Praya Road after protesters threw bricks and other objects at officers.

Tensions were high in Tuen Mun, with several people detained, after roads were blocked and fires were set.

People started cursing and shouting at officers as they were restraining the suspects, prompting officers to threaten them with pepper spray.

One woman was taken away by ambulance for a reported head injury, but it wasn’t immediately clear how she was hurt.

Protesters set an electrical control box outside Sheung Tak Plaza in Tseung Kwan O on fire. The box emitted multiple bangs and spewed out a steady stream of black smoke, before firefighters arrived to douse the flames.

A number of street lights subsequently went out.

Crowds also gathered in Central, Causeway Bay, Tsim Sha Tsui, Sha Tin, and Kwun Tong.

They chanted slogans condemning police brutality, and also called for a territory-wide strike on November 11 to express their discontent with the government.

The unrest again prompted the MTR Corporation to shut down multiple stations early, including the Disneyland Resort line, Tung Chung, Sunny Bay, Causeway Bay, Sai Wan Ho, Mong Kok,Tseung Kwan O, Tsuen Wan, Mong Kok, Whampoa, Tiu Keng Leng, Shatin, and Ma On Shan. All light rail routes were suspended because of the disturbances.

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