Published 15:53 IST, October 2nd 2019
Hong Kong police slammed as ‘trigger-happy’ after teen shooting
Hundreds of students in Hong Kong have staged a strike on October 2 to condemn police shooting of a teenager during widespread violence in the territory.
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Hundreds of students in Hong Kong have staged a strike on October 2 to condemn police shooting of a teenager during widespread violence in the semi-autonomous territory at pro-democracy protests that ruined China's National Day. The schoolmates of a teenage protestor shot in the chest by riot police condemned the brutal police tactics and demanded an investigation into the police on Wednesday. They were dressed in black, wore masks and heads were bowed. The shooting which took place on Tuesday during widespread anti-government demonstrations on China's 70th anniversary marked a fearsome escalation in Hong Kong's protest violence. The victim was an 18-year-old who has been hospitalized under critical condition, which is the first known victim of police gunfire since the protests began in June.
Claudia Mo: Hong Kong police have gone 'trigger happy and nuts'
The police officer fired as the demonstrator hit him with a metal rod. His excessive use of power will surely heighten widespread public anger about police tactics during the crisis which is widely condemned. A pro-democracy lawmaker, Claudia Mo, said on Wednesday that Hong Kong police have gone 'trigger happy and nuts'. She said the police officer could have used other methods like police baton or pepper spray instead of directly shooting the teenager. Scores of people which included students protested and held a silent march at the injured demonstrator's school in the Tsuen Wan district of Hong Kong on Wednesday morning.
The protestors sat with crossed-legs and some with their arms across their chests. A handwritten message was also written by one protestor that read "thug police". Commissioner Stephen Lo, the chief of police defended the officer's use of force. He said the officer fired when he thought the teenager posed a threat to his life. He fired a single shot from an extremely close range. The police commissioner said there is no order for police to shoot if they are under threat but they can use appropriate force. He described the protestors as rioters and said they have committed a lot of criminal activities which includes attacking police officers to destroying public property and vandalizing shops and banks that were linked to China.
100,000 people marched in the biggest rally: Organisers
The video of the police officer shooting the teenager spread quickly on social media. It shows a masked teenager approaching him with a metal rod and striking the officer's shooting arm. The video footage was captured by the City University Student Union showed a dozen black-clad protesters pelting objects at police and closing in on the lone officer who pointed his gun and opened fire. The protestor fell backward against the street bleeding heavily from below his left shoulder. Riot police fired tear gas in at least six locations and used water cannons in the business hubs to disperse the crowd. Despite a police ban, the protestors marched with anti-China slogans and "Freedom for Hong Kong". Organizers said at least 100,000 people marched in the biggest rally Tuesday and the police didn't give an estimate.
12:47 IST, October 2nd 2019