Water Cannons And A Gun Shot: Hong Kong Protest Violence Intensifies

(Wall Street Journal) Steven Russolillo Natasha Khan and Joyu Wang August 25 2019 9:25 pm Hong Kong police deployed water cannons for the first time Sunday in a show of force as pro-democracy protests turned violent following nearly two weeks of relative calm. Anti-government demonstrators clashed with police in the New Territories on Sunday hurling bricks and Molotov cocktails a day after police unleashed tear gas on protesters and some demonstrators threw firebombs at police. The 12th consecutive weekend of protests included some of the fiercest skirmishes yet between protesters and police including one that prompted an officer to fire his gun into the air as a warning. Across town in the central business district the family members of some members of the police force gathered to criticize the governments handling of the situation and how police have been treated. Two police trucks with water cannons were put in place Sunday eveningand the water cannons were briefly turned on though their streams fell slightly short of the protesters themselves. At the scene in Tsuen Wan a New Territories neighborhood about 10 miles from central Hong Kong protesters crouched behind makeshift barricades and threw firebombs and bricks at police. Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam met with a range of leaders over the weekend but none from groups that organized the biggest peaceful marches this summer that drew out millions in total suggesting a resolution remains elusive. At one frantic moment during Sundays clashes a police officer fired a gunshot into the sky during a skirmish with protesters. Video from the scene showed a group of protesters charging a number of policemen and beating them with rods and umbrellas. Police said one of the officers fell in the attack leading six of his colleagues to pull their guns and one to fire the warning shot.