HONG KONG—Antigovernment protesters wreaked havoc on the city for a second straight day, with train service disrupted, schools closed and roads blocked a day after one of the bloodiest episodes of unrest in more than five months of demonstrations.
Protesters and police clashed across Hong Kong on Tuesday, including at universities and train stations, and in the city’s financial district.
At the Chinese University of Hong Kong, police fired tear gas and nonlethal rounds after an hourslong standoff with student protesters. Some protesters carried bows and arrows—sports equipment from the university. Protesters blocked roads with road fences, garbage cans and wooden planks. They smashed at least one vehicle, which was then used as a roadblock and set on fire.
Tear gas and nonlethal rounds were also fired at City University of Hong Kong, including near the student dormitories, after protesters built barricades in the area. Dozens of riot police were at the University of Hong Kong, where protesters threw bricks and chairs from a footbridge, causing traffic jams and hitting vehicles.
Matthew Evans, a science faculty member at HKU, said he is worried about the presence of police on campus, adding that there is no way to prevent them from entering the university’s grounds. He said protesters throwing rocks wouldn’t solve problems either.
“What is happening now is not sustainable,” he said. “What happens is that the police come, there is a fight, people get arrested. And then tomorrow it starts all over again. Maybe not here, somewhere else. There’s not an end. It needs to end somehow.”
A day earlier, police shot a protester, the third injured by police gunfire since the demonstrations began in June. He was in serious condition Tuesday afternoon, upgraded from critical, according to the Hospital Authority. The protester, identified by friends as Patrick Chow, was arrested on accusations of unlawful assembly, according to a person familiar with the proceedings.
A man who was set on fire on Monday after arguing with demonstrators remained in critical condition on Tuesday afternoon. The police said they are classifying the case as attempted murder.
Last week, a student died from injuries caused by a fall from a parking garage close to where police were using tear gas to disperse protesters.
“Over the past two days, our society has been pushed to the brink of a total breakdown,” the Hong Kong police said at a news conference on Tuesday. They said they had arrested 287 people, ages 12 to 82, on Monday.
The U.S. State Department said it was watching the situation in Hong Kong “with grave concern” and urged the city’s government to build a dialogue with the public to address the underlying concerns and the protesters to respond to those efforts.
“We condemn violence on all sides, extend our sympathies to victims of violence regardless of their political inclinations, and call for all parties— police and protesters—to exercise restraint,” State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said.
Train service slowed at various stations on Tuesday. In Sha Tin, objects were thrown on the tracks, forcing hundreds of passengers to get off a train and walk to the station. In several subway stations, police took passengers off trains and conducted searches on them.
Office workers and protesters gathered at midday Tuesday in the bustling Central business district, an area that was engulfed in tear gas 24 hours earlier. Tuesday’s protest was kicked off by a masked young man attempting to wreck a traffic light.
A small team of black-clad protesters joined later, followed by bigger crowds of people, most in business attire. They chanted slogans including “People in Central, take revenge” and “Fight for freedom; stand with Hong Kong.” By midafternoon, police had fired tear gas in the financial district again, though to a far lesser degree than on Monday.
A 30-year-old man who works in the financial industry joined the demonstrators in Central both days. The man, who goes by Danny and was wearing a mask, said he wasn’t afraid to take to the streets again after tear gas was used near his office on Monday.
“I’m only worried if no one came out,” he said. “If we were all scared, we would be falling into the traps set up by the government. We need to use the power of people to tell the government that it isn’t only students or those who don’t have a stake in the society who are protesting.”
In Central, a few street fights broke out among protesters and passersby. At a roadblock made of bricks scattered on the ground, a masked man tackled a woman after she tried kicking the bricks to the sidewalk. Once she left the scene, the bricks were placed back on the road.
The protests, initially sparked by an extradition bill that has since been withdrawn, have morphed into a broader antigovernment movement. Many demonstrators are focusing their anger on alleged police brutality.
The protesters have five demands, including a judge-led independent investigation into police conduct. But many Hong Kong residents remain divided over the volatile political environment, especially with the economy tumbling into recession and disruptions to everyday life.
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said Monday that the government wouldn’t yield to violence and that she wouldn’t consider an independent police inquiry until after the council that investigates complaints against police gives its initial report.
In Central, the protesting crowds flooded a busy area, disrupting traffic. A 29-year-old woman who said she supports the pro-democracy movement gave a rice ball to a 48-year-old tram driver who was caught in the action.
“I am just passing by, and the driver said he hasn’t eaten yet,” said the woman, who works in the construction industry, adding that she felt bad that the protest disturbed the driver.
The driver said his company asked him not to comment on the protests but that he hoped protesters wouldn’t mess with his tram.
—Natasha Khan contributed to this article.
Write to Steven Russolillo at steven.russolillo@wsj.com and Joyu Wang at joyu.wang@wsj.com
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