A 17-year-old schoolgirl was in a critical condition in hospital yesterday after being shot four times at a party on Sunday night.

The teenager was gunned down along with 39-year-old Antoine Tuzo at Western Stars Sports Club on St. John's Road just before midnight.

The pair were shot by gunmen who fired indiscriminately into the Pembroke venue during a party to celebrate Dandy Town football club winning the Premier Division title.

Dandy Town assistant coach Mr. Tuzo was in a stable condition on a general ward at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital yesterday, while the girl was critical in the Intensive Care Unit.

The double shooting was the third incident involving firearms over the weekend and the 43rd of the year. The Easter violence began with the murder of 35-year-old Kimwandae Walker in front of his children on Good Friday.

A cousin of the 17-year-old girl told The Royal Gazette that relatives, including the teenager's mother, were at her bedside at the hospital.

"She got hit four times; she got hit in her arms and her stomach," he said. "She's lucky; there is no organ damage. She seems to just have flesh wounds."

The 31-year-old man said his cousin, a CedarBridge Academy student, had been at a family Easter celebration earlier in the day when gun violence was discussed.

"We had an attempt at a family discussion about the situation. There's a lot of young people [in the family] and there was definitely a sense of apathy toward there being any possible solutions from the younger generation.

"Ironically, she left there and went straight to Dandy Town. We went from talking about it in a theoretical context to talking reality in the space of hours. That really brings it home."

He added: "We are moving into a new phase where it's random and that should make everyone terrified. It means we all need to kind of work together to figure this problem out.

"The bottom line is: there are more of us than there are of them. We need to work it out. It's not just the Police's work, it's everyone's work."

The cousin claimed Police had yet to question friends of his cousin, who were with her when the attack happened, or Western Stars staff who were on duty at the time and "cleaned up the blood".

Dandy Town president Cecil Lewis told this newspaper that the club would shortly issue an official statement about the shooting.

Dandy Town assistant coach Jomar Wilkinson said the team continued to celebrate its victory yesterday but the mood was "mellow".

"The fact that whoever did this can be so heartless, to shoot amongst a group of people, is ridiculous," he said. "No one really knows what happened, but we are doing the best we can at the moment in light of the situation.

"We got some news on our assistant/goalkeeper coach. He is in stable condition and we are pleased to hear that. The mood is somewhat mellow. The young lady that got hit — we are also worried about her and our thoughts go out to her."

Local politician Michael Weeks, vice president of Dandy Town, said he got a call at about midnight on Sunday and went straight to Western Stars to talk to Police.

The Pembroke East Central MP said of the shooting: "It seems so random but at this point in time what do you say?

"My prayers go out to the families and I hope that we can come up with a solution to this random and senseless violence."

He said he knew Mr. Tuzo pretty well and described him as nice guy who put a lot into the club. "He was actually playing music, DJing, that night."

Police said yesterday that the two victims suffered abdomen injuries. They could not confirm how many shots were fired as the suspects travelled west on a bike along St. John's Road, apparently shooting randomly into the venue.

The incident marked the end of a violent Easter holiday, with Mr. Walker shot dead while flying a kite with his son and daughter at Victor Scott Primary School and one man shot and another stabbed in a large fight in the Royal Artillery Association (RAA) club in St. George's on Saturday night.

Two men have been arrested in connection with Mr. Walker's murder and two in connection with the RAA incident.

Widespread rumours of further attacks throughout Sunday turned out to be false, with tensions said to be high on a key day of local football.

Robert Davies, 23, who was housesitting close to Western Stars on Sunday, said he was surprised there wasn't a higher Police presence in the area.

"I was right outside the club, probably at 10 p.m., and to me it just seemed obvious that with such a big thing going on and with what happened on Good Friday, there was going to be a retaliation shooting.

"I, along with other people, could sense that something was going to happen at Dandy Town but I could see absolutely no Police officers. They should have had at least three Police cars there."

Mr. Davies added: "I was gone before the shootings happened, thankfully. Unfortunately, it's no longer shocking, it's just becoming completely disgusting."

Speaking at Dandy Town in the early hours of Monday morning, Police spokesman Dwayne Caines reflected on the Island's recent unprecedented level of gun crime.

"Clearly this is a time that none of us have seen before," said Mr. Caines, adding that the latest attack had left a teenage girl in hospital.

"I must ask anyone who can help us by providing us with information about what happened to come forward. We have to make sure we are in a position where we can know exactly what happened and bring these people to justice."

Police last night said that no one has been arrested in connection with the shooting incident at Western Stars Community Club.

Two people have been arrested in connection with the shooting murder of Kimwandee Walker on Good Friday, Police said there have been no further arrests in that matter.

• Anyone who was in the area of Western Stars Sports Club around the time of the incident should call Police on 299-8115 or the independent 24-hour confidential Crime Stoppers Bermuda hot line on 800-8477.