Hong Kong protesters build Medieval-style CATAPULT firing petrol bombs as they ramp up war with cops – The Sun

HONG Kong students built a medieval-style catapult to sling petrol bombs at cops as violence erupted across the city's university campuses.

Demonstrators constructed flaming barricades and raided university equipment to arm themselves in intensifying clashes with police.

In bizarre scenes the student protesters set up watchtowers and barricades made out of flaming tree branches and stolen sports equipment.

Clad all in black and donning gas masks the young adults resembled something out of Mad Max rather than studious pupils at the city's top unis.

Education chiefs closed down campuses ending term early for the first time ever in a bid to stop the violence.

However, cops accused the campuses of churning out criminals and becoming "weapons factories" as they attempted to smash through barricades.

Earlier in the week, students from the Sha Tin campus of the China University collected 2,356 empty cartridges, tear gas canisters and rubber bullets from the police onslaught.

Meanwhile, it was briefly reported on Twitter that Hong Kong's government were "expected to announce curfew for weekend."

The news was shared by China's Global Times before being deleted.

Officials are yet to respond to the rumour.

Throughout the week's continuing protest, demonstrators armed with bows launched flaming arrows from the Chinese University of Hong Kong – as China threatened to send in troops to deal with the escalating violence.

Groups of activists also set a metro station ablaze, while a woman was savagely beaten by protesters.

Smartly dressed office workers left their desks and took to the streets to join in protests.

On Tuesday, shocking footage emerged of police battering a heavily pregnant woman.

As the violence continued, protesters near the University of Hong Kong campus threw chairs and traffic cones from a footbridge on to moving traffic below, injuring a motorbike rider in a move branded "murderous" by police.

Officers fired tear gas and rubber bullets during overnight rioting that prompted scores of students to flee to mainland China.

Police said Hong Kong was on the "brink of total breakdown".

On Tuesday police said the protesters had committed "insane" acts, throwing trash, bicycles and other debris on to metro tracks and overhead power lines.

Senior Superintendent Kong Wing-cheung told a briefing yesterday: "Our society has been pushed to the brink of a total breakdown."

With more than 260 people arrested on Monday alone, the total number of those arrested by police since the action kicked off in June has risen to about 3,560.

Superintendent Kong said that officers had become fearful of their personal safety. Rather than backing off, some protesters were likely to confront police when guns were drawn, he said.

He added that the incident on Monday in which a 57-year-old man was set on fire by protesters was being investigated as an attempted murder, although no arrests had been made.

The victim, who had angered protesters by criticising their actions, remains in a coma with severe burns.

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