HONG KONG: A Hong Kong police officer shot at masked protesters on Monday morning, hitting at least two, as anger sparked by the recent death of a student spilled into the rush hour commute.

The shooting, which was broadcast live on Facebook, is the latest escalation in more than five months of pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.

Footage showed a police officer drawing his gun in the district of Sai Wan Ho as he tried to detain a masked person at a junction that had been blocked by protesters.

Another masked individual then approached the officer and was shot in the chest area, quickly falling to the ground, clutching their left side.

Seconds later, two more live rounds were fired by the officer during a scuffle and another masked protester went to ground.

Police then detained the two people on the ground.

A pool of blood could be seen near the first individual whose body initially appeared limp, although the person was later filmed conscious and even trying to run away.

The second man was conscious, shouting his name to reporters as he was handcuffed.

Police confirmed an officer had shot two protesters on Monday, saying they were conscious as they were taken to the hospital. 

One protester who was shot with a live round Monday morning is in critical condition, the South China Morning Post newspaper reported, citing an unidentified medical source.