Governor Sir John Vereker yesterday called for murder victim Shaki Crockwell's circle of family and friends to do everything they can to help Police find his killer.

Sir John spoke of his shock at 25-year-old Mr. Crockwell's shooting and pledged Government House's willingness to provide outside assistance in the murder investigation.

However, he stressed the only way to crack the case was for people with information about the death to come forward. Father-of-two Mr. Crockwell's body, dressed in a bulletproof vest, was found by Police in a pool of blood on the Railway Trail, Devonshire, on Friday at about 10.20 p.m.

He had been shot in the neck.

Witnesses' reluctance to speak has been partly blamed for the failure to convict anyone for Bermuda's two previous shooting murders, Shaundae Jones in 2003 and Jason Lightbourne last year.

Sir John's comments were echoed yesterday by a stream of voices, including Premier Ewart Brown, Opposition Leader Michael Dunkley, Public Safety Minister David Burch and church groups.

Speaking at the swearing in of new Director of Public Prosecutions Rory Field at Government House yesterday, Sir John said: "The Police cannot bring to justice those responsible for this and other violent crimes without help from the public.

"Successful prosecutions require more than well-founded suspicion; they require hard evidence. The assistance the Commissioner needs most at this time is not assistance from outside Bermuda; it is assistance from those within the circle of family, friends and associates surrounding those such as Shaundae Jones, Jason Lightbourne and now Shaki Crockwell, who have met tragically early deaths."

On the murder of the former national football team star Mr. Crockwell, Sir John said: "I know I speak for all in Bermuda, whether young or old, whether black or white, whether blessed with prosperity or struggling to raise a young family, in saying that we want to live in a peaceful and well-ordered community.

"The violent death at the weekend of another young Bermudian has shocked us all, regardless of age, or colour, or income."

Sir John received a full briefing on Tuesday from Police Commissioner George Jackson, Assistant Commissioner Bryan Bell and senior investigator Detective Superintendent Randy Liverpool.

Yesterday, he revealed 24 Police officers had been put on the case within 24 hours of Mr. Crockwell's murder.

"They have taken a very professional approach to all the things that have to be done after a dreadful crime like this," he told The Royal Gazette.

"They are doing everything that can be done. They need help from people."

He said Police were pursuing a number of promising leads, but declined to give any clues about them.

Responding to claims that Bermuda is sliding into a culture of gun violence and revenge, Sir John offered some words of reassurance.

"All violent crime, and gun crime in particular, is appalling and it is an attack on all of us who live on this small island whether we are the immediate victims or not," he said in his speech.

"But such crime remains, thankfully, relatively unusual in Bermuda. That is partly why it is so shocking when it happens. All of us, and especially those who are closest to the families affected, must be committed to keeping it that way, to deploring any talk of vengeance, to focussing on building productive lives and to teaching the next generation to do the same."

Earlier in the week, Mr. Jackson had criticised the practice of wearing bulletproof vests.

Saying he did not know why the victim was wearing one, Mr. Jackson said: "There are more incidents of persons wearing similar equipment and this trend is of concern to us. People who wear these protective vests should be asking themselves: 'Is this really necessary?' I would ask people to let us know of this happening, as it is of utmost concern to us that persons are leaving home and seemingly preparing themselves for some sort of attack. It is sending the wrong signal to our community."

The Premier, who has returned to Bermuda following a trip overseas, spoke publicly about the killing for the first time yesterday.

Speaking at a roll-out of Progressive Labour Party candidates at Pig's Field, Devonshire, near the murder scene, Dr. Brown said: "In view of recent events and in the name of the young men whom we have lost and the families who have been so severely traumatised by their loss, I am asking the public to cooperate with the investigation and come forward so we can see justice."

The AME Church yesterday issued a statement saying: "The church laments the gun violence that has now claimed the life of Mr. Shaki Crockwell.

"The reluctance of members of the public to come forward with information is of great concern to the church. Our community will suffer if law and order cannot function and the public must do its part in order for justice to prevail.

"The church appeals to persons who can give evidence in Mr. Crockwell's untimely death, as well as those of Mr. Shaundae Jones and Mr. Jason Lightbourne, to take courage and step forward.

"The Presiding Elder, the Reverend Malcolm Eve, and the AME churches of Bermuda wish to express their condolences to Mr. Crockwell's family and to all who loved him."

Jeffrey Brown, president of Bermuda's Seventh-day Adventist Church, called for a united approach from the Island.

"There is a war going on, and it's not a war on terror — it's a war on our streets, it's a war in our homes and it's a war in our hearts," said Dr. Brown.

"The only way we are going to fight this war successfully is when four institutions — church, school, Government, and home — stop pointing the finger of blame at each other, recognise our own responsibility, and work together to make a difference.

"Our sincerest sympathies right now are with the Crockwell family because if one member of our community suffers, we all suffer together."

Opposition Leader Michael Dunkley said: "Right now I don't have a lot of hope that we are going to make a lot of progress. Past experience has shown it's very difficult to get people to speak.

"If anyone knows something, we have got to stimulate those people to get involved. Get rid of the fear factor.

"We can't continue to allow those people who break the law to carry on with their lifestyle. It's a cancer that's eroding our society."

On Tuesday, Police said they had received a "very, very, very encouraging" response from the public so far, but stressed the urgency for people to come forward.

Mr. Crockwell was wearing jeans and a green hooded top. Anyone with information should telephone Police on 299-4239 or the anonymous Crimestoppers hotline on 1-800-623-8477.