Chinese troops fire on protesters in Peking

The noise of gunfire rose from all over the center of Peking. It was unremitting. On the streets leading down to the main road to Tiananmen Square, furious people stared in disbelief at the glow in the sky, listening to the sound of shots. Heading down the road was a hazardous business, but hundreds of people cheered as buses were set alight and army trucks caught fire too. They yelled and shouted, and then as troop lorries were seen moving down the road, there was gunfire from those lorries. The troops have been firing indiscriminately, but still there are thousands of people on the streets who will not move back. The bicycle rickshaw scooped up the injured. Others were shunted onto bikes and peddled to hospital. Many were carried away by frantic local residents. There was confusion and despair among those who could hardly credit that their own army was firing wildly at them. Many were bystanders, perhaps naive about the savagery of the situation. Indeed, it was hard at times to grasp that this army was launching into an unarmed civilian population as if charging into battle. From Tiananmen Square, the sound of gunfire sounded like a battle, but it was one-sided. A line of soldiers was strung out facing a huge crowd. The air was filled with shouts of, fascists, stop killing. We were in the line facing the troops. They were about 250 yards away. Young people were singing the Internationale to a background of gunfire. After hours of shooting and facing a line of troops, the crowd is still here. They're shouting, stop the killing and down with the government. A huge volley of shots just as I left the front line caused panic. The young man in front of me fell dead. I fell over him. Two others were killed yards away. Two more people lay wounded on the ground near me. Ambulances screamed up to the troop line and were turned away. They couldn't get to the square. Two ambulance drivers were shot and injured. Earlier, we'd been driving at the back of the Forbidden City, the old part of Peking near the square. We picked up a woman with a bullet in the head and took her to the nearby children's hospital into a scene of near mayhem. Casualties were arriving every few seconds on bikes, rickshaws, park benches, carried in, all with gunshot wounds. Housewives, elderly residents, people shot while sitting in their homes. The operating theatre was overflowing, many of the staff in tears. In 20 minutes, 40 seriously injured were brought for emergency surgery. Two were already dead. In the streets, many came up to us shaking with anger and disbelief and fear. Many were terrified, saying there would be retribution. There was not one voice on the streets which did not express despair and rage. Tell the world, they said to us.