The 16-year-old shot on Wednesday evening is the third young man that age to be hit by gunfire in just over a year.

The other incidents involving 16-year-old victims were a triple shooting on Court Street last May 22 and a shooting at the Bermuda College on March 13 this year.

Police confirmed last night that the Wednesday incident, which also left a 22-year-old man hurt, is believed to be part of an ongoing gang feud.

Government MP Ashfield DeVent lives just 150 yards from the latest scene of violence, and was home with his 18-year-old son and 20-year-old nephew when they heard the gun go off.

"I think it took a while to realise it was gunshots, but they were quite loud. I estimate maybe eight, nine or ten. We all kind of froze and then of course I received calls from neighbours, one after the other, asking 'did you hear that?'" he said yesterday.

"I said I did, and before you know it the Police showed up."

Mr. DeVent went outside but saw no sign of either of the victims, who had fled the scene.

"Of course the neighbourhood is still in shock, they are fearful, their children are feeling extremely uneasy and some are angry," he said.

Asked for his view on the fact that three boys aged 16 have been injured in the recent violence, Mr. DeVent said: "That's very young, but who knows, some of the shooters might be just as young.

"I feel I've been warning of this for a number of years and it's here now. This is what happens when you allow certain people in certain areas to just become lawless, and that lawlessness comes from drug sales."

Mr. DeVent believes that decriminalising all drugs would take the profit out of the underground industry and reduce the incentives for gangsters. He also believes Wednesday's incident may have been the work of 42 Street gang members looking to get the Parkside gang.

Asked yesterday whether that was the motive, Acting Assistant Commissioner of Police Antoine Daniels said: "Although Police are in the initial stages of the investigation, information thus far indicates that this latest incident is a continuation of the ongoing feud between two of Bermuda's prominent gangs."

The shooting occurred in the Pembroke East Central constituency of MP Michael Weeks, which has been badly affected by gun crime in recent months. In Bermuda as a whole there have been 97 gun incidents reported to the Police so far this year five more than the whole of last year. Six men have been killed and fourteen injured.

Mr. Weeks said yesterday: "Yet again, we are faced with another spat of gun violence, which has plagued our community. A community which is trying to come to terms with recent tragedy, and move on towards some sense of peacefulness and resolution.

"This time, one of the victims was a 16-year-old young man. All of this again, a senseless portrayal of criminal activity perpetrated in the Pembroke East Central area.

"The resounding question, as I walk the streets, continues to be 'when will it end'? Neighbours, friends, this is a question that we must ask of those who we know are involved in these kinds of criminal acts. We must be advocates for those who have no voice, the youth, and for those who feel that their voices are too weak to be heard, the seniors. As we can see from this incident, the targets of violence are getting younger in chronological age, and who will be next? Or do we dare wonder?"

Mr. Weeks continued: "I am pleading to those in our communities who may have played a part in this senseless activity to cease and desist. Stop the violence."

Anyone with information about the shooting can call the confidential Crime Stoppers hotline on 800-8477 or the Serious Crime Unit on 299-8106.