A prosecutor praised the "real courage" of a teenage witness who testified in a shooting trial "to make Bermuda a better place".

Yet the same young man was later dismissed as a self-serving liar by a defence lawyer.

Ronnie Furbert, 19, is the key witness in the case against Dwayne Signor, 29, and Khyri Smith-Williams, 19.

Both used to be his friends until the early hours of Easter Sunday when Smith-Williams allegedly brought a gun into the Royal Artillery Association club in St. George's.

According to Mr. Furbert, Signor grabbed the weapon during a fight and used it to shoot another of his friends, 18-year-old Shawn Williams from Paget, causing him serious injuries.

Mr. Furbert told the jury he had to flee the Island amid safety fears after helping the Police investigation.

Praising him for returning to give evidence, prosecutor Robert Welling said Bermuda needs more people like him.

"It takes real courage to do something that's the right thing, that will have the effect, you know, of losing all your friends. It takes even more courage, members of the jury, to do something that's going to put your personal safety at risk," he said.

"It takes even more courage, members of the jury, to get on a plane to come back to an island where you believe your personal safety is at risk and it takes even more courage to get in the witness box to expose yourself to the lines of cross-examination that my learned friend, [Jerome Lynch QC] in particular, submitted him to."

He added: "When you stop to consider the evidence that Ronnie Furbert has given to you, you think of the courage that young man has demonstrated, and the sacrifices he's made to make Bermuda a better place. Let's hope there are lots of potential Ronnie Furberts out there."

Signor, 29, admits grabbing the gun from amid a group of fighting men, telling the jury last week that he panicked and accidentally pulled the trigger on Mr. Williams.

Smith-Williams denies bringing the gun to the club, or having a conversation with Mr. Furbert that night.

He also denies starting a fight with the St. George's men.

Yesterday, his lawyer, Mr. Lynch, said of Mr. Furbert: "We say he's a liar from start to finish. Nothing he says can be relied upon."

The defence lawyer reminded the jury that while lying to the Police, Mr. Furbert told them at one point: "This is God's word itself out of my mouth."

Mr. Lynch referred to that as the "infamous blasphemous lie", in the case and said Mr. Furbert who was being questioned as a suspect at that point would say anything to get himself out of trouble. He also cast scorn on the notion that the teenager has suffered from fleeing the Island, saying he was "all too happy" to tell lies that could get others in trouble.

"Now he has a new life off the Island, no doubt at the great expense of the state. Mr. Welling prays that in aid, all the friends he's had to abandon, all the fear he's had to face. Oh, give me a break," he remarked.

Signor denies charges including attempted murder, shooting with intent to do grievous bodily harm and possessing a firearm and bullet. Smith-Williams denies charges of carrying a prohibited weapon and going armed in public so as to cause terror.

Puisne Judge Charles-Etta Simmons is due to sum up the case and send the jury out today.