The leader of a pro democracy group in Hong Kong was seriously injured on Wednesday evening in a bloody hammer attack by a group of masked thugs.

Photos have gone viral online showing Civil Human Rights Front (CHRF) convenor Jimmy Sham lying on a street in Mong Kok with blood all over his arms, head, and the road around him.

BREAKING: Within 24 hours after US House passing the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, Jimmy Sham, the convenor of the Civil Human Rights Front and candidate of District Council Election, was chopped and severely wounded by 4 masked persons this evening. pic.twitter.com/ys4pU98fRY — Demosistō 香港眾志 😷 (@demosisto) October 16, 2019

Police said that the attack was carried out at around 7:30 pm by six or seven people. Reportedly, they were all not of Chinese ethnicity.

Sham was taken to the nearby Kwong Wah Hospital. He was conscious and able to speak upon arrival.

Jimmy Sham was taken to Yaumatei’s Kwong Wah Hospital on Wednesday evening, a short distance from the scene of the attack in Mong Kok. In full: https://t.co/I0uhWsBEOg Photo: Stand News. #hongkong pic.twitter.com/qXydyBg3T5 — Hong Kong Free Press (@HongKongFP) October 16, 2019

Sham’s organization, CHRF, is responsible for organizing the largest, peaceful marches that Hong Kong has seen, including the one that brought out an estimated 2 million people in June.

He was attacked in August by masked men with a knife and baseball bat back in August after the CHRF had applied with the Hong Kong government to stage a rally. In what doesn’t appear to be a coincidence, the CHRF has asked for police permission to hold a protest march this Sunday as well.

Sham’s previous assailants have never been identified.

Meanwhile, at the scene of Sham’s latest assault, a police officer was filmed carelessly stepping into the bloodstains.

Just in: This video is circulating online. It shows that a police officer is stepping on the bloodstains which CHRF convenor, Jimmy Sham, allegedly left on the scene. Police confirmed 6-7 people took part in a fight in a public space at 7.40 pm in Mong Kok. #antiELAB #AntiMaskLaw pic.twitter.com/sOe27WfNjE — Ezra Cheung (@ezracheungtoto) October 16, 2019