An 18-year-old Hong Kong student was shot in the chest with a live round on Tuesday, Oct. 1.

The incident was the first of its kind since protests erupted in June.

The shooting angered protesters, who went on a mass rampage, vandalising stores that are believed to be pro-Beijing and triad-linked.

The subsequent police response that deemed the shooting as "reasonable and legal" further incensed the protesters.

The student, whose name was revealed to be Tsang Chi-kin, was later charged with rioting and assaulting the police.

Claims of police replacing white stick with metal rod circulating

Protesters have since reviewed video clips of the incident, and claimed that shortly after Tsang was shot, police replaced the white, short stick that he was originally holding, with a long black metal rod.

Stand News uploaded a clip from a livestream that captured the moments after Tsang fell to the ground, and as paramedics from  the police force attended to him.

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Stand News observed that police officers had wanted to retrieve the white rod that Tsang was holding originally, but did not do so.

From the clip, it could be seen that a paramedic squatting on the ground had first reached for the white rod but stopped doing so, instead turning his head around to look behind him.

He had previously retrieved the pink and black gas mask that Tsang was wearing, and passed it to his colleague.

A police officer was then seen walking towards the group with what appeared to be a metre-long black rod that Stand News claimed is made of metal.

A separate clip taken from another angle showed the police officer had walked to nearby spot and squatted down to retrieve the long black metal rod first before bringing it over to his colleagues.

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In a clip of the incident as it unfolded, Tsang could be seen holding a white rod.

He had used it to hit the police on his arm shortly before he was shot.

It is unknown where the white rod went, or what material it is actually made of.

Police response

The police had previously said on Wednesday, Oct. 2, that Tsang was attacking the police with a "metal rod".

A police officer, who felt that his life was threatened, then raised his gun at Tsang.

However, police said that not only did Tsang not back away, he proceeded to use a "metal rod" to hit the police officer.

Fearing for his life, the officer then made a "split-second" decision to fire the shot at close range.

Protesters even more unhappy with the police

The shooting had triggered further criticisms of the police, with protesters adding on an unofficial sixth demand for the police force to disband.

A picture of a police officer with a smile on his face as he held up his gun was circulated widely, sparking criticisms that the police had become "trigger happy", and would not think twice about shooting protesters with real bullets despite standard protocol that mandate more stringent steps to be taken first.

Previously, a photo of a police officer who appeared to be smiling as he fired pepper spray on a reporter was also widely circulated and condemned.

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The city-wide protests have lasted for the past 18 weeks with no signs of ceasing.

The Hong Kong government has banned face masks at public gatherings, in the hope that protesters would be less prone to violence if their identities were not masked.

However, protesters have typically taken to the streets even if protests were unauthorised, so it remains to be seen if they would heed the ban.

Top image adapted via Stand News