Assistant Police Commissioner David Mirfield said he understood the anger shown by residents on St Monica's Road following the shooting of a 29-year-old man.

But said the tensions hindered Police in their ability to respond to victim David Godwin's injuries and preserve the scene for DNA evidence.

Mr. Godwin was seriously wounded after being shot in front of popular eatery Art Mel's Spicy Dicy on St. Monica's Road, also known as 42nd Street, on Thursday at 5.30 p.m.

At 3 p.m. yesterday a hospital spokesperson said he was in the Intensive Care Unit following an operation at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital and last night he was described as in a stable condition. The shooting was the third gun incident in a 24 hour period — and Mr. Godwin was the 24th person shot this year.

Speaking at a press conference yesterday afternoon Mr. Mirfield said: "I do understand that tension on St. Monica's was very high and I know that officers were under a considerable amount of pressure and resentment when they attended.

"What I would ask for is that the residents keep calm. Those individuals were there to help, they need to preserve that scene.

"We all know without forensic opportunities it hinders our ability to respond to this type of crime and just the slightest bit of forensic evidence taken away because we are unable to preserve our scene can impact against our investigation."

Fifty residents shouted at officers and media outside where Mr. Godwin was shot. The angered residents alleged Police were working with the rival 'Parkside' gang because two unarmed officers were at the scene at the time of the shooting.

Mr. Mirfield, a retired senior officer from West Midlands of the UK, hit back against claims the two female officers were slow to respond on Thursday.

He said: "I can say there are rumours and also speculation in the media that there were officers present at that scene that failed to react. That is absolutely not true I have spoken to those officers personally and what I can tell you is this, they were in the area at the time of the shooting.

"This shooting like many of the other shootings took place extremely quickly by men on bikes who left the scene almost instantly. The officers that were there responded immediately to render assistance to the individual that was injured, but also to preserve the scene."

The officers were there quickly, he said, and they "certainly did not ignore any plea for help and they certainly did not witness the shooting itself."

In addition to this incident, gun shots were fired outside First Church of God in Pembroke on Thursday at 11.34 a.m. and six minutes later men on a motorcycle allegedly brandished a firearm on Court Street.

A car outside the First Church of God on North Street received bullet impact and occupants have been receiving Police support.

Mr. Mirfield said the incident demonstrated "the random nature and total disregard for life that these individuals have". And he said it would be treated as an attempted murder, with those responsible facing substantial prison sentences when caught.

The Bermuda Police Service has been restructured so that 85 percent of officers are dedicated to operational policing. In addition, the service has a 24/7 firearms response patrols and a dedicated Gang Targeting Unit.

Mr. Mirfield said: "We together with the support of our partners in law enforcement, other agencies and most importantly the engagement of the community, can tackle this violence.

"There has been progress, but I absolutely understand that some of our community are living in fear; we owe it to those people to protect them, and that is what we are striving to do."

He appealed for anyone with information in connection with any firearms related incident to come forward and contact the Serious Crime Unit on 299-8115 or call the Crime Stoppers Bermuda hot line on 800-8477