On the afternoon of 15 December 2019, demonstrators took part in “Christmas shopping” protests across Hong Kong and staged demonstrations in at least seven shopping centers, which ended in minor clashes between police officers and protesters. The most violent clashes occurred in Sha Tin, where protesters smashed glass panels in the atrium of the New Town Plaza mall and vandalized a number of restaurants. Riot police officers stormed the mall and deployed tear gas and pepper spray, then used batons to disperse the crowd; protesters threw projectiles at the officers in response. At least one person was injured after being sprayed in the face with paint. In Mong Kok, police officers deployed tear gas to disperse protesters gathered on the street, while at Telford Plaza in Kowloon Bay, riot police officers stormed the mall and engaged in minor clashes with protesters. Additional demonstrations took place at Times Square in Causeway Bay, Metroplaza in Kwai Fong, PopCorn in Tseung Kwan O, Cityplaza in Tai Koo Shing and Harbour City in Tsim Sha Tsui, although there were no reports of notable violence at any of these locations.
Earlier in the day, several thousand pro-China activists gathered in Tamar Park in Admiralty to show support for the Hong Kong police force and to condemn violence perpetrated by pro-democracy activists. There were no reports of violence at the Admiralty demonstration.
