Police are on high alert after the shooting of an alleged top gang member and have pledged to increase their presence this weekend.

Assistant Commissioner of Police David Mirfield said they would be out in force over the weekend and urged calm after 24-year-old Prince Barrington Edness was shot in the vicinity of Elliot Street and Court Street, Pembroke, at approximately 1.15 a.m. yesterday. Police have not made the victim's name public but The Royal Gazette has had it confirmed by several sources and this paper understands Mr. Edness is believed to be a high profile member of Parkside gang.

At press time Mr. Edness was in stable condition in the Intensive Care Unit of the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital. It is not known how many bullets struck him but Police say his injuries are "serious".

It is the second time Mr. Edness has been shot in the last two years on August 18, 2008, a gunman on a motorcycle shot him as he stood on Princess Street, Pembroke. No one has been charged with that shooting, nor has anyone been arrested for yesterday's incident.

Two years ago members of the public told this newspaper, and the Police, the shooting was linked to a rivalry between the 42nd Street and Parkside gangs.

Since then Bermuda's gun crimes have escalated at an unprecedented rate. In 2009, four men were killed by gunfire and 13 people injured. A total of 92 gun incidents were reported in 2009, 42 confirmed and 51 unconfirmed. So far 2010 has seen 115 reports of gunfire across the Island, 40 of which have been confirmed. Six men have been shot dead and at least 17 people injured. Police have linked many of those shootings, though not all, to the gang rivalries. It is not clear if yesterday's incident was also linked to the rivalry.

Mr. Edness' shooting was the second such incident to take place this week. On Sunday a 31-year-old man was shot at repeatedly, but not hit, while riding a jet ski near Boaz Island.

Assistant Commissioner of Police David Mirfield said: "This is the second shooting incident to be reported this week and once again I appeal for witnesses to come forward. "Sadly on this occasion a man has been seriously injured and while it would appear that this is a dispute between known individuals, the Police still need all the support it can get to apprehend the offender(s). I would also appeal for calm; it is clear that tensions are always heightened following such incidents and the Police will be out in force in the area this evening and over the weekend."

PLP MP Ashfield DeVent represents the area where the shooting took place, but said he did not want to comment on the particulars. However he did say: "It is unfortunate the violence continues and I hope there are not retaliations."

Anyone with any information is encouraged to contact the Serious Crime Unit on 299-8115 or the independent confidential Crime Stoppers Bermuda hot line on 800-8477."