2 shot after Hong Kong police fire live rounds at pro-democracy demonstrators

Hong Kong police officers. — (Image credit: Anthony Wallace/AFP/Getty Images)

Hong Kong police shot at least two pro-democracy protesters on Monday morning, after the demonstrators attempted to block a busy street.

The chaos began when a traffic officer started tussling with a protester, The Washington Post reports. Another demonstrator then began to approach them, and the officer fired a live round into the person's stomach. Two more rounds were then fired at another protester. A police spokesperson said the two injured demonstrators have been taken to a hospital.

Hong Kong has been rocked by unrest for the last five months, with protesters first hitting the streets after a bill was introduced that would make it legal for suspects arrested in Hong Kong to be extradited to mainland China to face trial. During a protest earlier this month, a demonstrator fell from a parking structure while police tried to disperse the crowd; the protester died on Friday, which led others in the movement to call for a general strike on Monday.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.