Hundreds of people took part in a peace march through the streets of Pembroke and passed a message to the people behind the gun violence: enough is enough.

Organised by the Seventh-day Adventists, it was a march against the violence which has claimed the lives of six men so far this year and came a few days after a teenager and a 22-year-old man were shot on Friswell's Hill.

On Saturday more than 200 Seventh-day Adventists marched through the streets of Friswell's Hill, Glebe Road, St. Monica's Road, Palmetto Road and Bishop Spencer Road on their way to a community rally at the Victor Scott school field.

Leading the march were the President of the Bermuda Conference, Dr. Jeffrey O. Brown, Pastor Damon Hendrickson, Youth Director of the Bermuda Conference, and Pastor Ryan Simpson, Pastor of the Devonshire Seventh-day Adventist Church.

They were followed by the Pathfinders, the church's youth group, led by Director Roy Butler, and then by members of all ages who brought up the rear. Placards were displayed with statements such as, 'God loves you', 'No weapon formed against you shall prosper', 'Prayer changes things' and 'Unity in the community'.

On the school field where Kimwandae Walker, 35, was shot dead in front of his children during a family fun day on Good Friday, April 2 Dr. Brown told the crowd that the "Seventh-day Adventist Church has heard the cries of the neighbourhood and we have come in support of the children who no longer play peacefully outside the homes in their community".

Former gang member and special guest from Orlando, Florida, Pastor Willy Ramos, aka the Ghetto Preacher, also presented a personal message of what has happened in his life.

Sheila Holder, a spokeswoman for the Seventh-day Adventists, said: "This march and rally was our way of saying to the perpetrators of gun violence enough is enough, stop the violence; and to the citizens of those streets, 'We hear you, and we've come to stand by you'."

Mrs Holder said the march and rally was one of the final activities to conclude the church's annual Camp Meeting, normally held at the Bermuda Institute, in Southampton, but held this year "in the heart of a wonderful community that symbolises the pain the whole Country is currently feeling".

""It was very well supported. People came out of their homes as the Pathfinders marched. They were clapping and cheering us as we marched along. And people came down to the Victor Scott field. About 350 people came out altogether some marched with the Pathfinders and others went to the field.

"What we noticed was that none of the children played outside. It was just like it was dead. I think the parents just wanted to keep their children close by them."

So far this year six men have been shot dead and there have been 97 reported firearms incidents more than the whole of last year.

The latest murder took place on Monday, June 14, when 34-year-old Frederick Maybury was gunned down outside Woody's Sports Bar, in Sandys. The latest shooting incident happened last week when a 16-year-old and a 22-year-old were wounded in a shooting at the junction of Friswell's Road and Middle Terrace, in Devonshire.