Senior Superintendent Li Kwai-wah of Organised Crime and Triad Bureau said that during an arrest operation on Friday night outside Tai Po's Jade Plaza, in the New Territories, a male suspect fired a shot at police officers, who then subdued him. No one was hurt by the shooting and a P80 semi-automatic pistol was seized on site. A female suspect has escaped.
Later, the police raided a flat nearby and found an AR-15 style rifle with 211 rounds of ammunition. Another 44 hollow-point bullets were seized from the flat and the scene of the shooting, Li said.
The seized firearms and ammunition matched information they received before about someone planning to cause chaos in public assemblies with guns, said the police.
Police said the 19-year-old shooter was arrested on Dec. 31, 2018 for illegal possession of firearms and had been held in custody. He was released on bail on Feb. 28, 2019.
However, he breached bail conditions and did not report to the police earlier this month. The police therefore decided to conduct the operation on Friday night.
The investigation on the source of those firearms is underway.
On Dec. 8, the police seized a 9 mm semi-automatic Glock pistol, 105 bullets, three daggers and some sabers, in an operation at 11 locations in various districts of Hong Kong, which was the first seized handgun that related to Hong Kong's demonstrations in recent months.