Tensions have boiled over in the city to the business district and campuses following the shooting of a protester earlier Monday (Nov 11) morning.

Hundreds in office wear stood along main roads in Central, shouting at riot police who have turned up in the business district and calling the officers "murderers" in Cantonese.

At the Chinese University of Hong Kong, riot police fired tear gas as a group of anti-government protesters set up barricades amid a showdown.

At Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), another group of protesters set fire to barricades in a stand-off with riot police on the footbridge linking the university and Hung Hom station.

In a statement issued just past noon, the police confirmed that one officer had fired his gun and a man was shot, without specifying where this happened. It added officers have also drawn their weapons in Sha Tin and Tung Chung.

Just after 7am, a police officer shot two protesters in Sai Wan Ho district east of Hong Kong’s main island, where protesters had heeded a call to block roads and build barricades, a live broadcast showed.

Reuters reported that one of them has undergone surgery and is in a stable condition while TVB said a 21-year-old man is in critical condition.

Footage showed a police officer drawing his sidearm as he tried to detain a masked man at a road junction that had been blocked by protesters.

Another masked man then approached the officer and was apparently shot in the chest area, quickly falling to the ground, clutching his left side. Some reports said he was shot in the abdomen.

Seconds later, two more live rounds were fired by the officer during a scuffle and another masked man fell to the ground, although the footage was less clear as to whether he was hit.

Police could later be seen detaining the two men on the ground. The first man had a pool of blood next to him, his body limp as officers moved him around and apparently tried to tie his hands. The second man was conscious and talking.

Local broadcaster RTHK said a live video posted by "Cupid News" showed at least one protester shot at close range. Police had fired three shots.

HK01 reported that at around 7.30am, police cordoned off the main roads in Sai Wan Ho after firing two shots which hit two individuals.

At around 10am, riot police fired tear gas as protesters set fire to cardboard and other debris at one of the road blocks in Sai Wan Ho.

The protesters in Sai Wan Ho were among various groups across the city who sought to disrupt traffic as part of a planned strike on Monday, crippling multiple MTR lines and affecting major roads.

A commuter, who gave her name only as Madam Wong, said she had waited for the bus outside Victoria Park in Causeway Bay for nearly half an hour to get to her job in Kowloon Tong, where she works as a sales assistant.

“I told my manager and she said not to worry. It’s difficult but police really shouldn’t shoot young people, that’s not right.

“Yes the protesters built the barricades to disrupt traffic first but this is only because the government isn’t listening, that’s why they have to resort to this. As adults, we try to be understanding, our young people are fighting for our future, what is a bit of inconvenience for us?”

At about 7.45am, police also fired tear gas and rubber bullets at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology after facing off with protesters who had built barricades at the school.

Similar scenes also unfolded at PolyU in Hung Hom. Protesters blocked off Hong Chong Road next to the university, which leads to the busy Cross Harbour Tunnel linking Kowloon to Hong Kong Island, backing up traffic all the way across Hong Kong Island to Aberdeen in the south.

Train services have been suspended at multiple stations, including Tung Chung, Whampoa, and all stations between Tai Wai and Shek Mun. There are no services between Fo Tan and Lok Ma Chau on the east rail, some light rails have been delayed and there was a fire in Kwai Fong station.

Local media reported massive queues and long delays in various stations.

Sogo mall says it will shut both Causeway Bay and Tsim Sha Tsui outlets on Monday. In Central, the working crowd lined up along the roads, shouting at riot police who have turned up in the business district and calling the officers "murderers" in Cantonese.

The Labour Department on Monday urged employers to have flexible work arrangements for staff, given the situation, while police said in a statement that it is moving to clear the protesters.

The police said radicals blocked the Cross Harbour Tunnel at Hung Hom towards Hong Kong Island, Tate's Cairn Tunnel at Sha Tin towards Diamond Hill and at Tuen Mun Road near Castle Peak Road towards Kowloon.

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) that had "mass-scale malicious vandalism on Friday" has said classes will be cancelled on Monday, as repairs take time.

The incident has caused many HKUST staff and students to start worrying about their personal safety. The government must propose feasible solutions to the current social disputes so that peace and order can be restored in the entire society," HKUST said on Sunday.

Many institutes and universities including the University of Hong Kong, Education University and the Polytechnic University have cancelled classes.

The call for a strike and class boycott comes after a day of angry clashes in the New Territories and Kowloon. The confrontations lasted into the small hours of Monday morning in Mong Kok, where police deployed a water cannon.

Police said that as at 11.30pm on Sunday, 88 people were arrested for offences including unlawful assembly, possession of offensive weapon, criminal damage, and using facial covering while at an unlawful assembly.

This news was previously published in The Straits Times, a part of the Asia News Network.