A Hong Kong protester was wounded by a real shot by a police officer following violent clashes on the sidelines of the big demonstration on Tuesday. There were tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters on the streets of Hong Kong calling for a "day of sorrow" in response to the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. celebrated a few hours earlier in Beijing.
READ ALSO - EDITO - "China becomes a totalitarian country again"
A police source says the protester was shot in the chest. The police reportedly fired after violent clashes between radicals and police in the Tsuen Wan neighborhood. The scene, filmed, is visible on social networks. Several demonstrators and policemen clash with umbrellas and iron bars. One of the police arrives running, his weapon in his hand, and kicks a demonstrator before firing point-blank into the chest of a protester. The shot is clearly audible.
Fifteen protesters hospitalized
The injured protester received first aid on site before being evacuated to Margaret Princess Hospital. In a second video shot by the local news channel Stand News, the police can be seen giving him first aid. He is then evacuated, unconscious and his face covered with an oxygen mask, on a stretcher.
After a weekend of violence, police warned of a "very dangerous" situation. A spokeswoman for the hospital authority announced the hospitalization of fifteen people in the wake of the demonstrations, including one admitted in critical condition at the Princess Margaret Hospital. She did not say if it was the injured protester.
Egg roll and ripped posters
Violent clashes have taken place between radicals and riot police in several neighborhoods. Mobilized since June, this day of celebrations in China was an opportunity for Hong Kong protesters to express their anger against the Chinese regime.
Protesters marched to the China Representative Office in Hong Kong, a regular target of the protest. They then threw eggs at a portrait of Chinese President Xi Jinping and snatched large posters celebrating the 70th anniversary before trampling them.
The European Union has called for "de-escalation and restraint".