Evacuation takes place at Hong Kong parliament amid protests

An urgent evacuation has been announced by the Hong Kong parliament of its staff on Tuesday amid ongoing protests which have taken a violent shape as a protestor was shot with a live round on chest earlier today.

"The Legislative Council (LegCo) Secretariat issued a Red alert at 3:55 pm [07:55 GMT] today (October 1). All persons are required to evacuate the LegCo Complex immediately under safe circumstances," the Legislative Council Secretariat said in a statement on Tuesday.

Some reports suggest as many as 15 people have been injured today after Hong Kong riot police fired tear gas in New Territories districts of Tsuen Wan and Sha Tin.

Due to the rising intensity of protests, Tsuen Wan MTR Line was initially temporarily suspended. But later Hong Kong rail operator MTR Corp closed all train services, Reuters reported.

Hong Kong was in a state of unprecedented lockdown on Tuesday, with barricades in the city center, shuttered stores, and a heavy police presence, as authorities scrambled to ensure protests do not overshadow China's National Day celebrations in Beijing.

Over the past months, Hong Kong has faced waves of rallies against now-withdrawn amendments to its extradition law, which proposed extraditing fugitives to mainland China.

Rallies continued even after the bill was scrapped, with protesters demanding an investigation into alleged police violence, denied by the law enforcement, and end of legal proceedings against participants of the rallies.