Demonstrators armed to the teeth with molotov cocktails, javelins, and (in one case, at least) a chainsaw have seized control of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), pushing riot police off the campus on Tuesday night and leaving a shocking amount of destruction in their wake.

Videos and photos posted to social media show the rioters fortifying their position with barricades and setting “huge” fires on the campus. Classes were unsurprisingly canceled at CUHK and other universities around the city, some of which also played host to clashes between the demonstrators – still dubbed ‘pro-democracy activists’ in the media despite the increasing levels of violence on display – and police. On at least one campus, rioters stole sporting equipment including javelins and shot puts and weaponized them.

An attempt at negotiations between the CUHK president and police failed, though reports of why this happened varied depending on the source.

While many who support the protesters framed the clashes as police entering university campuses unprovoked to terrorize innocent students, or claimed police are not allowed to enter universities, Hong Kong Chief Superintendent Kelvin Kong Wing-cheung said they were merely pursuing violent rioters who had already thrown bricks and molotovs at police. 

“Over the past two days, our society has been pushed to the brink of a total breakdown,” he told reporters on Tuesday.