There were two more gun incidents yesterday, and one person was wounded. In the other a car belonging to a pastor was shot at, and it is extraordinarily lucky that an apparently innocent bystander was not wounded or killed in the process.

These incidents, and the shootings and crime that took place over the Hurricane Igor weekend show that despite some progress by the Police and others, Bermuda is still suffering from a continued epidemic of lawlessness.

One of the dangers in this is that people become numb and indifferent to the situation. What was once shocking becomes banal. What was once unacceptable becomes normal. And this is happening in Bermuda.

Today's feature in The Royal Gazette helps to remove some of that complacency and shows just how much gun crime there has been in the last 18 months or so. It also shows that it is unacceptable and cannot be allowed to continue.

In fact, there has been progress. Several convictions have been achieved in recent weeks, often as a result of witnesses having the courage to come forward and give evidence.

A great many more cases are now before the courts. But a worryingly high number of cases remain unsolved, and this has much to do with the nature of these crimes and the continued distrust of the Police and authority in these cases.

And the truth is that Bermuda will not fully solve its gun crime problem without efforts that go beyond solving particular crimes and locking up those who commit them. It should be clear that that is not enough.

Premier Dr. Ewart Brown yesterday expressed his frustration that his attempts to bring in former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's team to tackle the problem had been turned down by the then-Governor, presumably acting on the advice of the Police.

And this newspaper and others, including the United Bermuda Party, have unsuccessfully tried to promote the Ceasefire programme which has had success in US cities and towns and in parts of the UK.

To be sure, there are programmes that have had some success, including the Mirrors programme - although after care remains a problem there — and some of the grassroots organisations like Youth on the Move, Cartel and Rise Above have also had success.

But a genuinely coordinated programme along the lines of Ceasefire, in which gang members are offered stark alternatives - genuine help on the one hand and prosecution and imprisonment on the other - still is not happening.

No single programme or approach will be perfect, and how it is executed will determine its success, but we cannot go on as we are.

The Bermudian

Certain expressions are destined to remain in the public consciousness from the moment they are uttered.

"The wrong kind of snow" was never forgotten after it was blamed for railway stoppages in Britain. And a "failed connection" may well get the same immortality here as an explanation for why a Government tender can leave its mooring and end up stuck on the rocks.

But there are serious questions to be answered regarding the Bermudian, still firmly lodged on the rocks in St. George's Harbour. Instead the public has been given a version of the doctor explaining that the operation was a success but the patient died.

In this case, the mooring was a success because it id not move. The chain or whatever the "connection" was, did not do so well.

So here are the unanswered questions:

Why was the Bermudian in St. George's Harbour? What kind of chain was attached to the mooring and was there a second line, a relatively normal precaution in a hurricane. Why was no one apparently aboard the vessel? The Spirit of Bermuda, which rode out the hurricane inside Two Rock Passage quite successfully, had a crew on board. What investigation, if any, is being carried out?

If human error is found to have played a part, what action, if any, can be taken against the individuals responsible? It is not trite to say that the public has a right to know the answers to these questions.