A policeman has shot at least one person in protests during Monday morning rush hour in Hong Kong.
Footage shown live on Facebook showed the officer drawing his gun before grappling with a man at a roadblock, BBC reported.
Another man, wearing a face mask, then approaches and the officer shoots him, hitting him in the torso.
As the grapple continues, the officer fires another two rounds – although it’s not clear from the footage whether the bullets hit anyone.
The condition of the first person shot is not known. Footage showed him lying on the ground, eyes open, with blood around him.
It’s the third time police have shot someone with live rounds since the Hong Kong protests began in June.
The first incident was during protests on 1 October when China was celebrating 70 years of communist rule. The second case was a teenage boy shot in the leg on 4 October.
The Monday morning shootings happened as protesters tried to block a junction at Sai Wan Ho on the north-east of the island.
Protesters used barricades to block roads in various areas of the city, leading to long traffic jams. Some railway lines were also disrupted.
Police earlier said that “radical protesters” had set up barricades across the city and warned them to “stop their illegal acts immediately”.
There are numerous reports of other clashes across Hong Kong. In one video circulating online, a police motorcycle seems intentionally to ram into protesters.
Several universities have cancelled their classes for the day due to the transport chaos.
The latest violence comes after a student died on Friday after falling from a ledge in a car park, reportedly trying to flee from police tear gas.
Why are there protests in Hong Kong?
Hong Kong is part of China but as a former British colony it has some autonomy and people have more rights.
The protests started in June against plans to allow extradition to the mainland – which many feared would undermine the city’s freedoms.
The bill was withdrawn in September but demonstrations continued and now call for full democracy and an inquiry into police behaviour.
Clashes between police and activists have become increasingly violent and in October the city banned all face masks.
