Hong Kong police fired tear gas in the heart of the Central financial district and at two university campuses to break up pro-democracy protests on Tuesday, as violence brought the Chinese-ruled city to what they said was the "brink of total breakdown".
The clashes came a day after police shot a protestor at close range and a man was doused in petrol and set on fire in some of the worst violence the country has seen in decades.
A flash mob of more than 1000 protesters, many wearing office clothes and face masks, rallied in Central for a second day during their lunch hour on Tuesday, blocking roads below some of the city's tallest skyscrapers and most expensive real estate