Shots fired during bloody Hong Kong street clashes

Hong Kong riot police fired warning shots during clashes that erupted in the Chinese-ruled city when authorities tried to remove illegal street stalls set up for Lunar New Year celebrations, the worst violence since pro-democracy protests in 2014.

Demonstrators threw bricks from the sidewalk to hurl at police, while others toppled street signs and set fire to rubbish bins in Mong Kok, a tough, working-class neighbourhood just across the harbour from the heart of the Asian financial centre.

“We have noticed a shift in some members of the public,” said Hong Kong Police Commissioner Lo Wai-chung.