Witnesses said police also beat demonstrators with batons injuring at least seven people.
Protests are illegal in Saudi Arabia, which has had an absolute monarchy since its unification in the 1930s.
The protesters, from the Shia minority, were demanding the release of prisoners they say have been held at no cost.
He was released last weekend, but comparatively small-scale protests have continued in the Eastern Region, where much of the country's crude oil is sourced.
But last month the arrest of Shia cleric Sheikh Tawfiq al-Amer, detained reportedly for calling for a constitutional monarchy, sparked outrage and drew crowds on to the streets.
The protesters have been demanding the release of nine Shia prisoners who they say have been held without trial for over 14 years.
Other accounts said the police had also used stun grenades and had beaten the protesters with batons, injuring plenty of over seven.
Rights groups have accused the police of beating protesters in the work of earlier rallies in Qatif.
"As the procession in the heart of the city was about to finish, soldiers started shooting at the protesters, and seven of them were wounded," the witness said.
The spokesman added that seven people, including a policeman, had been injured.
An interior ministry spokesman told reporters that police had fired over the heads of protesters on Thursday.
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