The head of a charity hopes that a fatal shooting on Tuesday can serve as a wake-up call and turning point for Bermuda.

Gina Spence-Virgil, founder and chief executive of the Gina Spence Programme, said the murder of 37-year-old mother Janae Minors by a lone gunman on Tuesday at her business, the Beauty Monster shop at the corner of Court Street and Dundonald Street, had left “a family grieving, children without answers and an entire neighbourhood blanketed in sorrow”.

She explained: “Let this be a turning point — not another headline, not another funeral, but a call to action.

“I urge our community leaders, faith-based organisations, parents, educators and every citizen to come together.

“Let’s support our children with real tools for grief recovery, let’s create safe spaces where healing can happen, let’s pour love into the lives that have been scarred by violence.”

Ms Spence-Virgil added that killings force children to carry heavy burdens and leaves families “not only to mourn but piece together their lives in a world that suddenly feels unsafe and uncertain”.

She said: “We must hold space for the hurting, lift up the broken and guide our people from mourning to healing.

“But healing doesn’t happen in silence or isolation; it happens when we come together, when we refuse to normalise trauma and when we decide to act.”

Ms Spence-Virgil added: “To the family who is grieving today, we see you, we mourn with you and we are here for you.

“To our community, now is the time to turn pain into purpose. Let us rise together and heal together.”

Representatives from political, religious and community organisations gathered at City Hall yesterday to reflect on violence in Bermuda and worldwide.

Jermaine “Jay” Tucker, the priest-in-charge at Christ Anglican Church, said honest conversations could defuse gang activity on the island.

Mr Tucker said discussions must be inclusive and acknowledge that gang violence has become an ongoing grim reality for Bermuda.

Glenn Fubler, of Imagine Bermuda, believes such dialogues have reduced conflicts in other countries, and could prove successful at home.

He said: “We have some discussions going on in which members of the community are already doing these things in a variety of ways. It’s about lifting that up and ensuring that we make it all-inclusive.

“The universe is calling us for that, not just locally, but also on a global level.”

Mr Fubler encouraged people to acknowledge that every life is precious after Ms Minors’s death and ahead of the autumn equinox on Monday.

He said: “During the equinox, the sun is perpendicular to the equator and the light that’s shared between the northern and southern hemisphere is equal — it’s symbolic of justice.

“As such, we’re asking people on that day, all day, to drive with their lights on, to demonstrate that we all have light to share with each other.”

A ceremony of reflection will take place on Monday from 12.30pm to 1.30pm at Emmanuel Baptist Church, within sight of where Ms Minors was killed and adjacent to the scene of a double fatal shooting on August 12.

Mr Fubler said: “We invite you to come by, even if it is just for ten or 15 minutes, and offer prayers, thoughts and reflections in that space overlooking the site where this tragedy took place.”

Imam Saleem Talbot, from the Bermuda Islamic Cultural Centre, urged people to speak out against violence in Bermuda and worldwide

He said: “As human beings and as a person who cares about your children, think about the babies [in Gaza], think about the children here. That’s the reason why I’m here today.”

The Gina Spence Programme offers one-on-one grief counselling and its Champions Programme works with children who have lost parents to gun and gang violence.

Visit gspcharity.com to donate or learn more about the organisation.

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