Hong Kong police shoot protester as pro-democracy unrest spirals into rare working-hours violence

Hong Kong police shot and wounded a protester who was in critical condition on Monday, hospital officials said, as the Chinese-ruled territory spiralled into rare working-hours violence in its 24th straight week of pro-democracy unrest.

Police fired tear gas in the Central business district where some protesters, crouching behind umbrellas, blocked streets as office workers on their lunch break crowded the pavements and hurled anti-government abuse.

Some passersby took cover inside the Landmark shopping mall, one of the oldest and most expensive in Central, as volley after volley of tear gas rained down.

Protests have happened almost daily in Hong Kong, sometimes with little or no notice, disrupting business and piling pressure on the government. But it is rare for tear gas to be fired during working hours in Central, lined with bank headquarters and top-brand shops. Some offices closed early and workers were heading home.

In Sai Wan Ho on the eastern side of Hong Kong island, police fired live rounds at close range at protesters and said one was wounded.

Video footage showed a man lying in a pool of blood with his eyes wide open. Police also threw a woman into the debris-littered street and pepper-sprayed her in the face as plastic crates were thrown at officers.

Anson Yip, a 36-year-old Sai Wan Ho resident, said protesters were throwing rubbish to create a road block when police ran to the scene.

"They didn't fight and the police ran and directly shot. There was three sounds, like 'pam, pam, pam'," Yip said.

Police later fired tear gas in the same area. Protesters and residents formed a barricade of polystyrene boxes around the bloodstained street after police forensic teams left the scene.

"When I arrived the road was blocked and people were yelling at the police, calling them murderers," said a 24-year-old man, one of several office workers gathered there, who gave only his surname, Wing.

As well as the man who was wounded in the incident, the Hospital Authority said another man had been admitted with severe burns.

Police said in a statement radical protesters had set up barricades across the city and warned demonstrators to "stop their illegal acts immediately".

They did not immediately comment on the shooting. The police first began using live rounds as warning shots in August and have shot an 18-year-old protester and a 14-year-old, both of whom survived.

Protesters are angry about what they see as police brutality and meddling by Beijing in the freedoms guaranteed to the former British colony by the "one country, two systems" formula.

Some have called for independence, a red line for Communist Party leaders in Beijing.

China denies interfering and has blamed Western countries for stirring up trouble.

The latest violence comes after a student died in hospital last week following a fall as protesters were being dispersed by police.

Violence flared at several university campuses as news of the latest shooting spread, with witnesses reporting tense standoffs between students, protesters and police. All classes were cancelled.

Hong Kong's stock market was down 2.7% in early afternoon trade, outpacing losses in other parts of the region.