Nov. 15 (UPI) — An elderly man hit in the head by a brick during Hong Kong’s anti-government protests died Thursday, medical officials said.
The 70-year-old man was hit in the head by the brick Wednesday as he worked in the road to gather bricks that had been thrown by demonstrators. Both anti- and pro-government groups threw the bricks at each other during the violence.
He later died at Prince of Wales Hospital, becoming at least the second fatality associated with the months-long protests in the autonomous territory.
The first was a 22-year-old demonstrator, Chow Tsz-Iok, who died Nov. 8 after he fell from the third story of a parking garage to the second floor. It’s unclear what caused his fall, but police were firing tear gas in the parking garage at the time.
Demonstrators began protesting in Hong Kong in June against a bill that would have allowed extraditions to China. Lawmakers in the autonomous region withdrew the bill from consideration, but protests continued over general anti-government sentiment and police use of force.
Fresh demonstrations Thursday disrupted transportation in the city, and police fired tear gas and chemical canisters. At Chinese University, protesters barricaded the campus to prevent police from entering the campus.
