A man, who police were seeking in relation to a string of recent robberies in the Ruimveldt area, was shot in the groin by a cop yesterday in Roxanne Burnham Gardens.

Hugel Cummings, 38, of South Ruimveldt Gardens, Georgetown was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) some time after 6pm yesterday by police.

Stabroek News understands that at approximately 5.45pm Cummings who was at his South Ruimveldt Avenue home made a mad dash in an effort to escape police. The man ran a short distance to the Roxanne Burnham Gardens area (located next to South Ruimveldt Gardens). He was shot by a police rank after he reportedly refused to surrender.

Cummings was being treated for the gunshot wound up to 10 last night at the medical institution.

The bullet, a hospital source said, entered Cummings’ body around the genital area and exited through his thigh. He remained in a serious condition, the source further said, and would most likely be admitted to the hospital’s High Dependency Unit.

When Stabroek News visited the Roxanne Burnham Gardens area last night residents were reluctant to speak. One man, who refused to identify himself, said that Cummings was “a known character” in the area.

The injured man, this newspaper understands, lived with his girlfriend at the South Ruimveldt Gardens address. However, no one was present at the house just after 9 last night and Stabroek News could not reach Cummings’ relatives for a comment.

“Recently,” the man said, “there has been a lot of robberies in the area…this place here [South Ruimveldt/ Roxanne Burnham Gardens) get serious now. You can’t walk here after certain hours because people attacking you to rob you.”

A senior police source reported last night that police had conducted a raid in the Roxanne Burnham area on Monday night. Cummings, according to the source, was one of the men who were being sought for questioning in connection with a string of robberies in the area.