The Hong Kong police force arrested a total of 201 people from Friday to Sunday, including a 19-year-old student who slashed a police officer’s neck on Sunday.

The past weekend also saw radicals use for the first time an improvised explosive device to attack officers.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Operations) Tang Ping-keung on Monday said violence in Hong Kong has escalated to a point that thugs are aiming to take the lives of police officers.

Twelve police officers were wounded during operations against radical protesters’ citywide violence and vandalism on Saturday and Sunday, according to Kong Wing-cheung, acting chief superintendent of the Police Public Relations Branch.