DWAYNE Charles, 25, of  Charlestown, Georgetown was shot in his abdomen at approximately 16:45 hrs yesterday in the busy Stabroek Market Square, by a man who accused Charles of robbing him.

But the injured man, who up to last evening was being treated at the Georgetown Public Hospital, said the shooter’s claims are false, and that it was another man who might have robbed him.
The Guyana Chronicle visited the location yesterday afternoon to find vendors very upset about the entire incident. They told this publication that after the man was shot, he ran in an attempt to get to the police outpost, as he continued to say that he was not the person who had robbed the man, and that the man had shot him wrongfully.
One woman said she was standing at her stall when she saw a crowd and persons running in the direction of her stall. She said a man then appeared in front of her stall, holding his abdomen and relating that he was shot.
As the man related to her what had transpired and that he needed to be taken to the hospital, the man who had shot him appeared and pointed the gun to the man’s head in an attempt to shoot him again.
The vendor said it was only after persons in the area began shouting at the man, telling him the injured man was unarmed, that he lowered his weapon, and persons in Stabroek Square began closing in on him.
Another woman expressed outrage at the actions of the shooter. She said that even if the shooter had suspected the man to be a robber or whatever, the manner in which he handled the situation was uncalled for, and could have endangered the lives of other persons.
Vendors are calling on the police to investigate both the claims of the shooter — that he had been robbed, and the story of the injured man — that the wrong man had been shot.
They are also calling on the police to launch an investigation to find out if the firearm holder had exercised good judgement when he decided to fire his weapon in a crowded area, and the threat to life and limb which his action had caused.
At the time of the incident, Dwayne Charles was carrying a haversack which contained personal items, in addition to two cellular phones which he had on his person. He was taken to the hospital in a conscious state, and was able to give the police and health personal his personal information. He was accompanied to the hospital by a female police officer who was passing in the area at the time.
Persons at the market area said the response time of police from the nearby outpost was not as swift as had been expected.
Police Commissioner Leroy Brumell, in a press conference in July, related that the force is stepping up its presence in the busy areas of Georgetown and other parts of the country. He also spoke of the presence of police in plain clothing.
Yesterday, while persons in the crowd had not recognised many police ranks, this newspaper observed that detectives and other police ranks who were dressed in plainclothes were present on the scene, thus affirming the commissioner’s promise that plainclothes ranks would be present in the area.
The man who shot Charles was taken to the Brickdam Police Station, where up to late last evening he was being questioned by detectives.