Hong Kong Protesters Now Have Arrows, Catapults – By Newser Editors and Wire Services (Newser) / Nov 17 2019
Cop shot in the leg with an arrow amid ongoing tensions
(Newser) – A Hong Kong police officer was hit in the leg by an arrow Sunday as authorities used tear gas and water cannons to try to drive back protesters occupying a university campus and blocking a major road tunnel under the city’s harbor. Police said the arrow struck a media liaison officer and he was taken to a hospital. Photos on the department’s Facebook page show the arrow sticking out of the back of the officer’s lower leg through his pants. The protesters held their ground for most of the day, as water cannon trucks drove over bricks and nails strewn by protesters to spray them at close range. They began retreating into Hong Kong Polytechnic University near sunset, fearing they would be trapped as police fired tear gas volleys and approached from the opposite direction.
The use of bows and arrows, along with gasoline bombs launched with catapults, threatened to escalate the violence in the five-month anti-government movement. Sunday’s daytime faceoff came after a pitched night battle in which the two sides exchanged tear gas and gasoline bombs that left fires blazing in the street. Many protesters retreated inside the Polytechnic campus, where they have barricaded entrances and set up narrow access points. A large group of people arrived in the morning to try to clean up the road but were warned away by protesters. Riot police shot several volleys of tear gas at protesters, who sheltered behind a wall of umbrellas and threw gas bombs into bushes and trees, setting them on fire. Water cannons arrived in early afternoon, one using blue-dyed water to drench protesters. Protesters have largely retreated from occupations of several major campuses, except for the contingent at Polytechnic.
(Read more Hong Kong stories.)
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Police spray blue-dyed liquid from an armored vehicle during a confrontation with protesters at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in Hong Kong, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2019. Police fired tear gas and water canons at protesters holding out as overnight clashes resumed Sunday. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)
