>> reporter: now, john, there is a temporary calm. i should say, every once in a while it's shattered by gunfire that goes down to the left. about half an hour ago, i saw a couple of bodies being taken down there. this has been the main street where the clashes have happened. let me wind back to this morning. those of us in this hotel where i am broadcasting out of, many journalists woken by the sound of what seemed like gunfire nearby. according to some of the protesters i spoke to -- and their stories aren't unanimous, they're sort of scattered and differing -- they said at one point in the morning, police withdrew back, pulled back from their original positions. one protester saying it's because a police sniper fired at protesters, protesters fired back at them. another suggesting a stun grenade went off, causing protesters to move forward, simply a tactic police used to create confusion. then, it seems protesters moved down towards the positions police had previously occupied, and then some sort of exchange of gunfire happened. we know the protesters, as many