At least 21 police officers suffered a range of injuries – hurt by various life-threatening objects hurled by rioters, including petrol bombs – while on duty during violent protests in Hong Kong over the weekend, Mak Chin-ho, assistant commissioner of police told a press briefing on Monday.

In the operations, police arrested 32 people on Saturday and 54 on Sunday and charged them with offenses including unlawful assembly, possession of offensive weapons and assaulting police, Mak said.

"Their radical acts have intensified with more dangerous and sometimes deadly weapons used, including bricks, metal poles, long sticks and petrol bombs," he said when referring to some of the most intense confrontations between demonstrators and the police over the weekend since protests escalated in July. 

The officer called on the public to raise their voices against "the increasing intensity and extensity of violence used by protesters" that seriously jeopardize public safety and rule of law in the city. 

"Such reckless use of violence placed everyone in immense danger," he said, stressing any civilized society would not tolerate this. 

"If you still remain silent...Please ask ourselves, is this the Hong Kong you would like to see? " 

Escalating violence

According to the police, the weekend clashes have extended from venues of lawful assemblies to various unrelated districts all over the city, with no sign of warning to the general public. 

Rioters set up numerous barricades with water-filled barriers, dismantled railings, and placed bamboo sticks on major roads paralyzing traffic. 

On Saturday, radical protesters smashed and tore down several smart lampposts in Kowloon Bay. They turned even more violent in Tsuen Wan, in the western New Territories of Hong Kong, on Sunday, viciously attacking police officers and recklessly destroying public properties. 

Throughout the whole of Sunday afternoon, a large gang of rioters threw numerous self-made petrol bombs at police officers, sometimes even at people on protest sites, hitting innocent passers-by and reporters. 

In the evening, a gang of rioters vandalized multiple shops in Tsuen Wan, shattering glass panes and breaking metal gates. 

"These attacks are intentional, planned and organized. Not only do their acts put everyone on site in extreme danger, but also threaten the daily life of ordinary citizens," Mak stressed. 

'A life-or-death situation'

Gunshots were heard on Sha Tsui Road in Tsuen Wan on Sunday night after one police officer fired a warning shot into the air in the face of a 'life-or-death' situation, Mak explained. 

At around 8 a.m. local time, police officers of the Emergency Unit arrived at Yi Pei Square to handle urgent cases of criminal damage. Over 100 rioters armed with offensive weapons surrounded and attacked officers, charging at police with metal poles and long sticks, repeatedly and recklessly, he said. 

As a result, officers sustained multiple serious injuries, their helmets, shields, and other protective gears were smashed. At one point, an officer fell but rioters still beat him brutally. 

"It was a clear intention to take his life," Mak said. 

"One officer had to fire a warning shot into the air, no one was hit."

Six officers also held up their revolvers as precautionary measures, he added.

"Our officers' lives were in great danger," Mak said. "Please try to put yourself into our officers' shoes during that critical moment."

He emphasized that the officers have demonstrated great restraint and their use of force was indeed necessary and reasonable to combat the violence.

"It was to protect any person, including our officers themselves, from death or serious bodily injury," the officer said.

Mak said the police will continue to stand firm to combat violence and carry out duties impartially, pledging to bring all offenders to justice and restore public order.