It's alleged that at least one Hong Kong protester has been shot by police and is in critical condition, with several others hurt.
The government has issued a statement denying the actions of the police and insisting that they did not give any order for the police to discharge any live ammunition at the protesters.
Despite their denials, it's still widely claimed that officers have fired on multiple occasions.
It is also alleged that riot police recently stormed a church to make arrests, pro-democracy lawmakers have also allegedly been targeted, and other students have been arrested.
The ongoing protests have involved tear gas, a growing number of arrests being made, and riot police storming into many areas, including commercial buildings.
A number of different areas have seen destruction and chaos as a result of the clashes.
It's alleged that one of the reasons that some businesses have been targeted by protesters is because those businesses have voiced their support for China or the police.
Those who are demonstrating their grievances should seek to do so in a peaceful manner that doesn't infringe the property rights of others, but we have seen that there has been much destruction involved with these protests. That doesn't make it fair to say however, that every individual who takes part in, supports, or shares the same feelings of discontent that the protesters have etc, are all seeking to be violent and simply disrupt the lives of others.
When protesters use violence against public or private property, that only offers support to the government to use violence back at them. In fact, their actions help the state so much so that if it had been discovered that the state had been secretly funding violent protesters in an effort to erode support and legitimacy for a growing political movement, I wouldn't be surprised.
Unfortunately though, there are many fools out there who are eager to use violence to display their discontent with certain issues, whether that be in the voting booth or in the streets, one is just a little more obvious.
The staff at one hospital that treated a young man who had allegedly been shot by police, later decided to stage a protest against the recent rise in police brutality.
Inflicting violence upon unarmed protesters, as it is claimed that the individual was unarmed at the time, isn't a solution.
Don't Have The Tools?
According to one recent finding from a panel that was comprised of international experts who had been appointed by the Lam administration, they finally concluded that the current police force isn't equipped to deal with investigating the crisis and ultimately supports the demand for an independent inquiry into the issue.
It is expected that Hong Kong is going to hold elections later this month.
