Amid Hong Kong Protests, Mystery Attack on Subway

Attackers wear white as they ambush commuters
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jul 21, 2019 2:45 PM CDT

Hong Kong's protest movement took a violent turn Sunday as police launched tear gas at protesters after a massive march continued late into the evening, and subway riders were attacked by masked assailants who apparently were targeting pro-democracy demonstrators, the AP reports. The firing of the tear gas was the latest confrontation between police and protesters who have taken to the streets for over a month to fight a proposed extradition bill and call for electoral reforms in the Chinese territory. The march had been peaceful when it reached its police-designated end point in Hong Kong's Wan Chai district in the late afternoon, but thousands continued onward to a Chinese Communist Party building in the city and threw eggs, which led to the tear gas and protesters scattering.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong media has released video showing masked assailants attacking commuters in a subway station. Among those attacked were protesters clad in their trademark black clothing and yellow hard hats. The attackers, meanwhile, were dressed in white with black masks pulled over their heads. On Saturday, demonstrators wore white at a counter-rally in support of police. Footage (Warning: VIOLENCE) shows the attackers using umbrellas to beat people in the station and inside a subway car. Subway passengers angrily accused police officers of not intervening in the attack. One reporter said she suffered minor injuries to her hands and shoulder, and was dizzy from a head injury. The South China Morning Post reported several people were bleeding following the attacks, and that seven people were sent to the hospital. (Meanwhile, the bill that sparked Hong Kong protests is "dead.")

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