October began with Immigration Minister David Burch issuing an ultimatum to illegal aliens: leave Bermuda by the end of the month or face prosecution.

On October 1, St. David's man Roger Eugene Lightbourne Sr. was charged with murdering homeless local resident Maxwell (Buckshot) Brangman on September 21.

The following day, 18-year-old Darronte Lavar Dill was charged with murdering both Mr. Brangman and his friend Frederick (Freddie) Gilbert.

The Bermuda Music Festival saw the Island rock to The Whispers, Beyonce, UB40 and Alicia Keys over several nights at the beginning of the month.

On October 6, teachers pledged to take no further action over the Ministry of Education's failure to give them a promised pay rise in September, after they were assured they would receive it by the end of the month.

On October 10, a BTC outage hit the island's Internet, ATM and cellphones over a six to eight hour period. Thousands of customers were affected.

October 12 was Bermuda's first-ever National Heroes' Day. Thousands gathered at the National Stadium to honour the life of Dame Lois Browne-Evans who, during her lifetime, became the first female lawyer in Bermuda, first black woman elected to Parliament, the longest serving PLP MP, co-author of Bermuda's modern constitution, first female Opposition Leader in the Commonwealth, first female member of Devonshire Recreation Club, first female Attorney General, first politically appointed Attorney General and first PLP Minister of Legislative Affairs.

Premier Brown joined Oscar winning actor Michael Douglas and thousands of other spectators for the opening of the PGA Grand Slam of Golf at the Mid-Ocean course the following day. American Jim Furyk won the event – and a $600,000 prize – after a dramatic playoff with Padraig Harrington on October 25.

On October 24, British billionaire Sir Richard Branson sailed into Bermuda after bad weather defeated his attempt to break a trans-Atlantic sailing speed record.

"We won't give up," he vowed as he stepped off the 99 foot racing yacht Virgin Money in St. George's. "Next time we'll go the whole way."

On October 27, former Premier Sir John Swan gave his backing for a feasibility study into gambling and a possible national lottery in Bermuda.

He said the legalisation of casinos could stop Hamilton becoming a ghost town now cruise ships don't call there any more.

On the same date, a six-year-old girl took the witness stand at Supreme Court to give evidence in the case of a man accused of sexually assaulting her.

However, a judge ruled afterwards that her testimony did not come up to proof, and dismissed the charge against the man.

A war of words broke out between former Attorney General Phil Perinchief and former PLP MP Julian Hall ahead of the PLP delegates' conference opening on October 29, over whether Dr. Ewart Brown is a suitable party leader.

Mr. Perinchief called for Dr. Brown to step down, saying he had led the party away from its core values. Mr. Hall hit back, saying Mr. Perinchief was "sulking" over being axed as AG.

On October 30, a landmark ruling in the case of a driver fined multiple times after being caught by the new electronic vehicle registration (EVR) system raised questions over whether the law would have to be re-written.

Justice Ian Kawaley said that Richard Cox, who racked up $19,250 for driving through EVR detectors eleven times, was punished excessively and should only have to pay $4,875.

The appeal was the first since the new technology was rolled out on July 1 to snare unlicensed and uninsured motorists.