Hong Kong police officer shoots 2 pro-democracy protesters

At least two pro-democracy protesters sustained injuries after being shot at by a traffic police officer in Hong Kong on Monday morning as the city braced for a general strike to mark the recent death of a student during a clash with the police.

Footage from the scene of the incident, which took place in Sai Wan Ho, show a traffic police officer firing a live round into the abdomen of another protester who was approaching him. Two more rounds were subsequently fired at another protester.

Washington Post quoted a police spokesperson as confirming that live rounds were fired and that two protesters were injured outside the Sai Wan Ho MTR station and taken to Eastern Hospital for treatment.

The anti-government protests in the city escalated yesterday over the death of Chow Tsz-lok, a computer sciences student at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). Chow had suffered a severe head injury in a parking garage close to the scene of protests.