The parents of tragic American teenager Mark Dombroski were told last night that Bermuda had embraced them in their grief.

Stanley James, an elder at the Seventh-day Adventist Church, said: “Mr Dombroski and Mrs Dombroski, you have lost a son, but today we tell you that you have gained a nation.

“We cannot give you back your son, but we can give you our family and we will stand and be the best as we can be as Bermudians.”

Dr James was speaking at a special vigil service to remember the six people who have died on the island since last Friday.

Dejon Simmons died on Wednesday after he was assaulted in Hamilton in the early hours of last Sunday morning.

Roman Edwards Easton died at a daycare centre in a private home on Monday at the age of just three months.

Mr Dombroski’s body was found in the moat at Fort Prospect in Devonshire on Monday after he went missing after a night out with friends last Saturday.

Demarcvjai Williams and Marco Salema died in a double motorcycle crash last Friday and Anthony Easton was found dead in his apartment later that night.

About 200 people gathered at the vigil in Hamilton’s Victoria Park, including David Burt, the Premier, John Rankin, the Governor, members of the clergy and representatives of the Bermuda Rugby Football Union.

Mark’s father, John Dombroski, said his wife, Lisa, broke down in tears when she heard Dr James’s words

He said: “Bermuda is a loving country. It is just a shame that we have this memory.

“Mark came here before and his comment was ‘mom, dad, let’s come back here on a family vacation. It is beautiful, I want to live here’.”

Mr Burt honoured those lost and said that Bermuda showed its strength in the most difficult of times.

He added: “These were all sons, fathers, uncles and as our families are mourning, it is the strength of our community to comfort those who need our comfort and be with those who need our strength.

“The best of Bermuda can be seen when we come together at times like this — times of tragedy.”

Mr Rankin added: “As a parent myself of three young adults, I can only begin to imagine the pain that must be felt by the families and friends both here in Bermuda and overseas.

“I therefore offer my condolences to family and friends both as Governor but also on a personal basis.

“I also pledge my support to all those in government uniformed services, the social services, the clergy and everyone here more widely who are working in the community to help prevent such losses in the future.”