The founding member of a support group for people dealing with the aftermath of the violent deaths of young men has called for a “bridging of the gap” between law enforcement and the community.

Nicole Fox, of Mothers On A Mission, also said the time was ripe for everyone “to come together and recognise the severity of the magnitude of the situation which leads to young men dying”.

Ms Fox’s call was supported by close to 15 mothers and guardians who gathered at CedarBridge Academy on Saturday, where the group prepared for its annual island-wide motorcade, which brings awareness of the impact of violent crime.

The event came after two men were killed in a daylight shooting on Court Street.

Nakai Robinson, 18, and Natrae Eversley, 23, were shot dead near the junction of Court Street and Dundonald Street at about 4.40pm on Tuesday.

A third man, aged 24, who also sustained gunshot wounds, was treated in hospital.

Ms Fox said: “I believe the community and the police need to build a bridge.

“I believe that the community does not somewhat trust the police and I think that we need to close the gap.

“The gap needs to be closed because it is only a handful of them [criminal elements] and it is so many of us and they are holding this whole island hostage.

“People are scared and I just want to bring us together in unity and in love so that we can get these young men to put the guns down and change their mindsets.

“The police cannot do it on their own, they are stretched and it’s just gotten so much bigger than the Bermuda Police Service.

“It requires so much and I think we can all play a big part as a community.”

Andrew Murdoch, the Governor, was on hand as the group prepared to set off for the motorcade and pledged his support to their mandate.

He met the members of the group several days ago and he said he understood that the women experienced difficult times with the loss of their loved ones to violence.

He added: “Just on the back of what’s happened in Court Street, the advocacy and what you are doing is really important.

“Because we have to break the cycle, it is really important that your voices are heard and its really important that you feel confident when you are ready to share your voices and experiences.

“Inaction is not acceptable and it’s all a collective effort. We need to keep the conversation going.”

Ms Fox lost her 25-year-old son Ricco Furbert in 2013 to a double murder at Belvin’s Variety Store at Happy Valley Road in Pembroke.

The life of her stepson, Clark Fox, was claimed by a shooting in March 2020.

Tina Rowse, another organiser who attended the event, lost her son Joshua Rowse to a knife attack three months later in June 2020.

Ms Fox said that at times the mothers who lost their loved ones to violence believed they were forgotten and that “our lives no longer exist after we’ve been through our tragedy”.

She added: “As a community of parents that have lost children to violence, we believe that it is important to be supported also.

“So if our country could support us while we navigate life without our children, I think that we can come together to support each other more.”

The motorcade rolled off at 10am and travelled to Dockyard by South Shore before taking a break.

It then headed to St George’s along North Shore Road and back to Hamilton via Middle Road.

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