A flash mob of more than 1,000 protesters descended on central Hong Kong on Tuesday in a scene authorities said was bringing the Chinese-ruled city to the brink of "total collapse."
Clashes in the central business district and elsewhere in the former British colony came a day after a police officer drew his gun during a struggle with protesters, shooting one in the abdomen. In another neighborhood, a 57-year-old man was set on fire after an apparent argument.
“Our society has been pushed to the brink of a total breakdown,” police spokesman Kong Wing-cheung said at a media briefing in regards to the last two days of violence.
Kong said masked “rioters” had committed “insane” acts that have caused Hong Kong's rule of law to be "pushed to the brink of total collapse." Police said that violent protesters have thrown trash, bicycles and other debris onto metro tracks and overhead power lines, snarling the transit system.