The Mayor of St. George has reiterated his call for a full-time Police station in the area after one teenager was shot and another knifed in a club brawl.

Kenneth Bascome has consistently said a 24-hour presence is necessary in St. George's. Last night he said the violence at the weekend only sharpened his calls.

According to Police an 18-year-old man was shot in the upper body and a 19-year-old man was stabbed around 3 a.m. The fight took place on Sunday at a reggae party at the Royal Artillery Association (RAA) on Grenadier Lane in St. George's.

The fight involved seven or eight people, said Superintendent Antoine Daniels, and more than one gunshot was heard.

An eyewitness told this paper that he arrived at RAA minutes after the shooting and saw the victim lying on the ground writhing in pain.

He said the 18-year-old was "moaning and groaning" and no one would help him as partygoers stood around chatting, playing with their cell phones and laughing.

A King Edward VII Memorial Hospital spokesperson said the 18-year-old was in a stable condition on a general ward. The 19-year-old has been released.

Two men have been arrested and Police are urging witnesses to come forward with information.

Last night Mr. Bascome said the display of violence was just another reason why a full-time Police presence in the town was necessary.

"I say even more so now, although the Police cannot be everywhere, I believe this incident explains what I have been asking for all along — a fully-functioning Police station. It means persons manning and foot patrols 24/7.

"If we had the Police station fully operational, I believe the Police would have been in and around these areas more frequently.

"What is happening is we believed we were immune to all of this violence that has happened in Bermuda because it hasn't affected our community other than the incidents of the football games but it's now come on our doorsteps and now I will do everything in my power to do what I can to eliminate this violence."

The 18-year-old shot in St. George's was one of four people shot during the violent Easter weekend. And last month a 31-year-old received serious head injuries from unknown assailants as he walked near the RAA on his way home.

Former St. George's Mayor E. Michael Jones who is now chairman of the Tourism Board considered the implications for Bermuda tourism.

"It's obviously very horrible when things occur. The closer they are to home the worse they become. I just think it's a horrible situation no matter where it was. It just tears my heart out that this is happening.

"I have been in tourism all my life and I can remember the days where you could say it's such a great place to come and visit and walk around.

"Even if these [people] do not appear to be actually attacking our visitors these days the trickle down will affect our visitors. As the chairman of the Tourism Board I must wear a tourism hat.

"And no one loves it more than I do."

Mr. Jones agreed that a greater Police presence in the centre of St. George's might help, but added: "We can see when they have public shows they have Police there to assist and people say we should have someone policing [private parties] in the same way.

"But the Police are stretched so what do you do? They cannot be everywhere."