HONG KONG — Police laid siege to a Hong Kong university Monday, forcing back anti-government protesters armed with Molotov cocktails and other homemade weapons as some tried to escape the campus where hundreds are believed to be holed up.
Police had the campus of Hong Kong’s Polytechnic University surrounded most of Sunday and into Monday, using water cannons, tear gas and heavy police vehicles in a dramatic escalation of the demonstrations that have swept the semi-autonomous Chinese territory since June.
Dozens of protesters tried to break through police lines, Reuters reported. Many, dressed in regular clothes and without gas masks, made a run for it, dodging tear gas canisters and sponge grenades, only to be forced back inside. Some were arrested and tackled to the ground.
A lull settled on the area as the president of the university said in a video message that police have agreed to temporarily suspend their use of force under the condition that the protesters don't initiate any violence. University's deputy director of communications told NBC News late Monday that they believe about 500 people are still trapped inside the campus.
Hong Kong police tweeted Monday evening that “a large number of rioters, some of whom are underage, still remain on campus.”
Local Broadcaster RTHK quoted the student union's acting president, Ken Woo, early Monday as saying that he believed some 70-100 had tried to leave the campus, but were forced to go back because of tear gas being shot at them.
NBC News saw about 20 people wearing face masks and plain clothes running away from the university Monday afternoon, using a highway and railway tracks to escape before police arrived.
Police said they were aware of injuries inside the campus and have arranged for ambulances to take those needing medical help to hospitals. They said they have also allowed volunteers with the International Red Cross to enter the campus.
Hong Kong police storm campus occupied by protesters
Nov. 18, 201901:42The city's Cross Harbour Tunnel, next to the Polytechnic university, linking Hong Kong island to the Kowloon peninsula, remained closed after protesters burned a bridge above the toll booths Sunday.
Police said in a press conference Monday they have arrested 154 people, ages between 13 and 54, on charges of unlawful assembly and taking part in a riot, among others, over the weekend.
Chief Superintendent Kwok Ka-chuen called on protesters at the university to hand over their weapons and follow police orders, calling the campus “a weapon factory."
He said “offensive weapons” such as arrows, Molotov cocktails, metal balls and bricks were launched from makeshift catapults mounted on the roof of the campus. Kwok said a large gas canister, which looked like a homemade bomb, was also seen inside the campus.
Contrary to reports, he insisted that police had not stormed the campus.
“While individual officers have made arrests near the entrances of the campus, they retreated to their check lines outside the campus afterwards,” Kwok said.
Earlier Sunday, a police media officer was also shot with an arrow that penetrated his leg.
Embattled Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said in a Facebook post Monday she visited the injured officer in the hospital and wished him a speedy recovery.
The unrest in the international financial hub and former British colony has been causing alarm around the world.
Reuters quoted a senior official in President Donald Trump's administration as saying that the United States condemned the "unjustified use of force" in Hong Kong.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, tweeted his support for the protesters Saturday, calling the police response "shameful." Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., tweeted Sunday saying "Beijing is pushing Hong Kong into a state of siege." The Republican senators visited Hong Kong in October.
Meanwhile, hundreds of people took to the streets of the central business district Monday in the latest in a series of lunchtime protests that have taken place since the beginning of last week.
Local authorities said all schools will be closed Tuesday while kindergartens and special schools will be closed for the rest of the week.
Amid the escalation of violence, protesters celebrated a legal victory as Hong Kong's High Court ruled Monday that a British colonial-era emergency law revived by the government to ban protesters wearing face masks was unconstitutional.
Demonstrators have been protesting for months against what they see as Chinese meddling in Hong Kong's affairs and demanding greater democracy for the semiautonomous territory.
A small group of Chinese soldiers at a base close to the Polytechnic University were seen by NBC News monitoring Sunday's clashes from afar.
"No one should underestimate Chinese people's determination to safeguard national sovereignty and maintain Hong Kong's prosperity and stability," China's Foreign Ministry said in a statement Monday.
Jasmine Leung reported from Hong Kong, and Yuliya Talmazan reported from London. Dawn Liu contributed from Beijing.


