The teen wounded in Wednesday’s shoot out with police ranks responding to an attempted robbery on Mandela Avenue, has refused to give up the identity of his accomplice and is denying any wrong doing.

A senior police officer told Stabroek News yesterday that Akeem Rose, 17, of North East La Penitence is still a patient of the Georgetown Hospital but he was not releasing information about the man he was with at the time of the incident. When this newspaper visited the hospital, he was still under police guard.

Police sources said that the teen has denied opening fire at the police. He said that it was men in a dark-coloured car that approached him and started shooting. According to him, he had gone to the fuel station to buy bread.

Police in a statement had said that around 11pm, ranks of a mobile patrol came under heavy gunfire from two men at the Texaco Service Station at Mandela Avenue.

Ranks returned fire resulting in injuries to Rose and the discovery of an unlicensed .38 revolver with five rounds and a spent shell, which were both in the teen’s possession.

It was following observations made, police added, that the ranks had approached the two men in a car at the fuel station and they both opened fire.

The ranks returned fire, hitting Rose while his accomplice managed to escape. This newspaper was subsequently informed that ranks went to the area following a report of an attempted robbery. Residents of the area had observed police in dark coloured clothing running into North East La Penitence shooting wildly.

No one saw who the ranks were chasing. One man said that at least 20 shots were discharged by the running policemen.

During the commotion, a bullet shattered the driver’s side window of a car that was parked in a yard on Mandela Avenue.