Hong Kong police said on Saturday that a man who fired a shot at officers was arrested in Tai Po district during an arrest operation related to the months-long protests.

The arrest was made on Friday night in the vicinity of Jade Plaza in Tai Po. No one was hit by the shot and the man was subdued by officers, police told reporters.

The 19-year-old male suspect was detained, but police said a female suspect escaped.

The male suspect had previously been arrested in December 2018 for illegal possession of firearms and was on bail since February 2019, police added.

One pistol was seized and some firearms and ammunition were discovered inside a flat nearby in a subsequent search.

Police said it's believed the suspect's motive was to target law enforcement with firearms in public processions.

"The firearms we discovered matched the intelligence we had collected which indicated that some people hoped to use firearms in some public assemblies to wound some others, including police officers on duty," Senior Superintendent Lee Kwai-wah told reporters.