The incident, which occurred when two men were arguing over their booty from a burglary and a robbery, left one nursing a gunshot injury in the abdomen at New Amsterdam Hospital.

The patient was wounded by his alleged accomplice after a disagreement over the sharing of their ill-gotten gains about 17:45 hours (5.45 p.m.) at Main and Chapel Streets in the town.

Police said one of the men accused the other of not dealing him his fair share and the injured man is under guard at the hospital.

An eyewitness told the Chronicle she heard two shots and then pandemonium broke out as a crowd of revellers scattered, some running towards and others away from the scene.

A large contingent of policemen on patrol fired several shots in the air to disperse the gathering and restore order, before the shooter was apprehended and the victim taken for medical attention, the woman reported.

A hospital source said the wounded man is not in a critical condition and is recovering.

Reports of other unpleasant incidents in New Amsterdam included fist fights and thefts but several arrests were also made.

However, apart from those occurrences, the frolic in the ‘Ancient County’ saw thousands tramping through the township, among them a large contingent from Georgetown.

The official Mashramani revelry in New Amsterdam concluded at approximately 19:00 hours (7 p.m.) but many people followed the ‘Stereo Sonic’ musical sound system into the Esplanade bandstand and continued the merriment.

At precisely midnight, though, the Police stopped the music playing at the after Mashramani fete, much to the disappointment of the participants.

In contrast, similar celebratory activities in the mining town of Linden were incident free with thousands taking part.

Some of the participants felt it was the largest turnout in recent years although there were fewer floats.