HONG KONG - Hong Kong police arrested an 18-year-old man after he fired a single shot with a pistol at officers late on Friday evening, in an incident police said they suspected was linked to anti-government protests that have rocked the city.

Steve Li Kwai-wah, a Senior Superintendent of the Police Organised Crime and Triad Bureau, said early on Saturday that the man fired a shot before being subdued by police who were conducting an arrest operation near Jade Plaza in the northern Tai Po district. No one was injured.

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A search of a nearby flat revealed a cache of weaponry including an AR-15 style rifle, 211 rounds of ammunition and 44 hollow-point bullets

A P80 semi-automatic pistol was seized on-site and a female suspect has escaped.

A search of a nearby flat revealed a cache of weaponry including an AR-15 style rifle, 211 rounds of ammunition and 44 hollow-point bullets.

Li added that there were signs this case was linked to other recent seizures of firearms and explosive devices including on Hong Kong island.

"At the moment, all we know, our information shows he was hoping to use it during a protest and cause chaos and to hurt police officers,” Li told reporters on the scene.

Police said the man was arrested on Dec 31, 2018 for illegal possession of firearms and had been held in custody. He was released on bail on Feb 28 of this year.

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He breached bail conditions and did not report to the police earlier this month. The police therefore decided to conduct the operation on Friday night.

A police spokeswoman said no new charges had yet been formally laid yet.

The shooting incident came ahead of more planned anti-government protests stemming from the extradition bill incident this weekend including calls to disrupt shopping malls.

On Dec 8, police seized a 9 mm semi-automatic Glock pistol, 105 bullets, three daggers and some sabers in an operation at 11 locations in various districts of Hong Kong. It was the first time police seized a handgun relating to the anti-government demonstrations in recent months.