A police officer opened fire on a group of youths playing in the street, seriously wounding a 17 year old in Muradiye district of Van at 21:45 yesterday.

The police officer, whom the youths asked to stop as he left the garden of a house in Yavuz Selim neighborhood, thinking he was a thief, suddenly started to open fire on the group without any warning, wounding 17 year old Selim Deniz.

The friends of Deniz told that the policeman also pointed his gun at them and threatened not to intervene the boy whom he left wounded. The youths told that they took their friend to Muradiye hospital in a car they stopped in the street and waited for an hour in the hospital for an ambulance to take Deniz to a hospital in Van province.

The boy was later taken to Van Yüzüncü Yıl Research Hospital where he is arbitrarily being denied treatment while he still has a bullet in his belly.

Speaking on the situation of Deniz, HDP Van deputy Özdal Üçer said the hospital arbitrarily kept the boy waiting since yesterday evening, while Muradiye co-mayor Mehmet Ali Tunç said that Deniz carried high risk of infection and it was unacceptable to keep him waiting without providing treatment.

HDP deputies, municipality executives and local people are waiting in front of the hospital, protesting the arbitrary attitude of the hospital.

Speaking on the situation of Deniz, HDP Van deputy Özdal Üçer said the hospital arbitrarily kept the boy waiting since yesterday evening, stressing that they will continue to wait there until they are assured that Deniz receives treatment.

Muradiye co-mayor Mehmet Ali Tunç criticized the hospital authorities who alleged that they could not operate on the boy to remove the bullet before he became stabilized. Tunç said that they did not find this explanation satisfactory while Deniz carried high risk of infection, adding that it was unacceptable to keep him waiting under these circumstances.