Police have arrested two more men with suspected connections to a gang shooting in Central, bringing the total number of arrests to seven.
In a statement published on Thursday night, authorities said the men, aged 24 and 30, were suspected of attempting to wound with intent and possession of offensive weapons.
The shooting – a rare occurrence in Hong Kong – took place on Wyndham Street early last Friday morning.
At around 2:40 a.m. that day, five vehicles were driving along the street when the three cars in front – belonging to one triad group – stopped at the traffic lights. Men from a rival gang got out of the two cars behind wielding knives, police said.
The gang under attack fought back, firing at least two shots and injuring one man in his stomach before fleeing.
Police said the two rival gangs had been “at each other’s throats for quite some time” and engaged in disputes related to gambling and drug trafficking.
‘Active follow-up action’
Authorities said in the statement that “active follow-up action” by the police was underway.
Officers carried out searches in Kowloon on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights, according to the police force’s Facebook page.
“Police, together with the Customs Department and Immigration Department, continued operation ‘Levington’ in Mong Kok, Sham Shui Po and Yau Ma Tei,” a post on Tuesday night read. It added that officers had gone to “multiple military equipment shops, places of entertainment and crime hotspots.”
“Cracking down on triad activities is one of the police commissioner’s most important operations,” the post read. “Police will continue working with other enforcement departments and spare no effort to crack down on any triad activities. There is no tolerance for illegal acts.”
Photos also showed police at Chungking Mansions and Mirador Mansions. Located in Tsim Sha Tsui, both are complexes with restaurants, hotels and other businesses, and are known as hubs for ethnic minority groups in Hong Kong.
According to police, six of the seven men arrested in connection with the Central shooting were of South Asian descent, while one was Chinese.
Police have also offered a HK$250,000 reward for anybody who could provide information about the incident.
