2019 Yuen Long attack
Mob attack in Hong Kong / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The 2019 Yuen Long attack, also known as the 721 incident,[8] refers to a mob attack that occurred in Yuen Long, a town in the New Territories of Hong Kong, on the evening of 21 July 2019.[9] It took place in the context of the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests.[9][10][11] A mob of indigenous Yuen Long villagers dressed in white, claiming to protect Yuen Long against protestors stormed the MTR's Yuen Long station.[12][13] and allegedly caused 45 injuries, which included[14] protesters returning from a demonstration in Sheung Wan on Hong Kong Island,[15] journalists and lawmakers.[16]
2019 Yuen Long attack | |
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Part of the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests | |
Native name | 7·21 元朗襲擊 |
Location | Yuen Long, The New Territories, Hong Kong |
Coordinates | 22°26′46″N 114°2′8″E |
Date | 21 July 2019 20:30 – 04:30[1] (HKT, UTC+08:00) |
Target |
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Attack type | Congregation of people leading to confrontations,[2] violent acts[3] and assault cases[4] (by official) |
Weapons | Wooden sticks, handles, poles, rattan canes, steel rods, metal tubes,[5] knife, iron pass |
Deaths | 0 |
Injured | At least 45 people (including 1 pregnant woman,[6] 1 critical and 5 in serious condition) |
Victims |
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Assailants | 600-700 (at peak) white-shirted men with triad background[7] |
2019 Yuen Long attack | |||
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Traditional Chinese | 2019年元朗襲擊事件 | ||
Simplified Chinese | 2019年元朗袭击事件 | ||
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Alternative name | |||
Traditional Chinese | 721事件 | ||
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Alternative name(3) | |||
Traditional Chinese | 元朗暴力事件 | ||
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Alternative name(4) | |||
Traditional Chinese | 721西鐵元朗站事件 | ||
Simplified Chinese | 721西铁元朗站事件 | ||
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Alternative name(5) | |||
Traditional Chinese | 元朗黑夜 | ||
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Despite over 24,000 calls to the 999 emergency hotline,[17] the police arrived 39 minutes after the attacks and one minute after the mobs had left the station.[18][19][20] Around 30 non-police tactical unit trained police officers were assigned to standby at Tuen Mun Police Station for contingency.[21] No arrests were made that night. At least 45 people were injured in the incident,[22] including a suspected pregnant woman.[23] However, the Hospital Authority reassured the public that accident and emergency departments at public hospitals had not received any cases of pregnant women related to the incident.[24]
The government later distanced itself from the violence, and rejected accusations that it or the police had colluded with the mob.[15] Over the following two years, the government and police commented that the public were misled into seeing the Yuen Long attacks as a “one-sided indiscriminate terrorist attack”, as the incident was in fact “started off as a gang fight involving a sizeable number of participants from both sides.”[25][26]