Concerns are mounting that Hong Kong police’s increasingly violent efforts in dealing with pro-democracy protestors are only escalating an already volatile situation.
Video and still pictures shared on social media show police upping the ante against protestors, many of whom are teenagers.
An 18-year-old protester was shot by police during demonstrations marking China’s National Day, leaving him in a critical condition in hospital.
One of the protestors’ five demands is to have a commission of inquiry into the police’s use of force against the pro-democracy movement which includes alleged torture and other ill-treatment in detention.
As the crisis continues, some protestors have acted violently towards police and some have vandalized public and private property.
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- A protester is detained by Hong Kong police during clashes the city’s Wanchai district on Oct. 6. (Photo by Nicolas Asfouri/AFP)
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- Police chase down a couple wearing facemasks in the central district in Hong Kong on Oct. 5 a day after the city’s leader outlawed face coverings at protests invoking colonial-era emergency powers not used for half a century. (Photo by Nicolas Asfouri/AFP)
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- Riot police arrive at Causeway Bay area in Hong Kong on Oct. 4, as people hit the streets after the government announced a ban on facemasks. (Photo by Nicolas Asfouri/AFP)
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- People light incense and leave flowers as they pray at a makeshift shrine outside the Mongkok district police station in Hong Kong, on Oct. 3. Anger continued to mount over the police shooting of a teenage protester on Oct. 1 who attacked officers. (Photo by Nicolas Asfouri/AFP)
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- A woman holds up her phone showing an image as anger mounted over police shooting a teenage protester who attacked officers in a dramatic escalation of the violent unrest that has engulfed the territory for months. (Photo by Nicolas Asfouri/AFP)
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- “Grandpa Wong,” 85, shields protesters from the police with other “silver hair” volunteers in the Tung Chung district in Hong Kong on Sept. 7. (Photo by Vivek Prakash/AFP)
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- A woman is treated after police fired tear gas to disperse protesters in the Mong Kok district in Hong Kong on Oct. 7. (Photo by Mohd Rasfan/AFP)
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- Protesters help an injured comrade during clashes with police in the Wanchai district in Hong Kong on Oct. 6. (Photo by Mohd Rasfan/AFP)
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- Hong Kong police detain a man during clashes following an unsanctioned march through Hong Kong on Sept. 29. (Photo by Nicolas Asfouri/AFP)
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- A Hong Kong policeman aims his weapon toward protesters during clashes following an unsanctioned march through Hong Kong on Sept. 29. (Photo by Nicolas Asfouri/AFP)
