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Parks staff too scared to work alongside target of gunmen

Investigation: Police at the scene of the shooting incident in Paget on Wednesday. The Parks Department worker who was the alleged target of the shooting is likely to be reassigned.

The Department of Parks worker who was shot at looks set to be found another Government job as colleagues are too scared to work alongside him.Top-level talks are expected to today result in the man, who is in his 20s and from Pembroke, being transferred to another Government department as a safety precaution.Union and Government bosses met with workers yesterday after the Parks worker was fired at while working at the Trimingham Hill roundabout in Paget on Wednesday.The emergency meeting was called after the workers from the maintenance division said they feared for their safety when working with the man in public areas.It is understood that workers are worried that the man, who is alleged to have gang affiliations, could be targeted again in another broad daylight shooting.Three bullets were fired at the man at about 2.20pm on Wednesday, but he escaped injury by running from the two gunmen, who were on a bike, and hiding in nearby bushes. It is understood that this was not the first time the man had been shot at, although police would not confirm this.Managers at the Department of Parks yesterday followed the advice of police officers and told the man to stay at home.However, he is expected to be involved in talks between Government senior executives and the Bermuda Industrial Union today.Sources within the Department of Parks told The Royal Gazette that the man looked likely to be transferred to a new job where he'd have less contact with the public.The final say on the worker's future is said to rest with “the highest level of Government”.Yesterday's 8am meeting with workers was followed by a series of meetings throughout the day. Acting Public Works Minister Neletha Butterfeld, Acting Head of the Civil Service Judith Hall-Bean, Lisa Dawn Johnston, Director of Parks, and BIU president Chris Furbert have been involved in the negotiations, a Government spokesman said.The spokesman said the meetings were held to underline Government's commitment to the safety of the workers.“Members of staff expressed their feelings about the incident,” he said. “Also present were officers of the Department of Court Services, lead by its Director, Mrs. Gina Hurst-Maybury who offered their professional counselling expertise to any staff member who required their services as a result of the incident.”“The outcome of the meeting included a commitment by the management of the Department of Parks to meet on an urgent basis with representatives of the staff to discuss any and all measures in place to ensure the health and safety of the entire workforce going forward.”Workers are said to be “very concerned” that one of them could be injured or even killed “because of another person's lifestyle”.Mr Furbert would not go into details about workers' concerns but said meetings to try to resolve the issues were ongoing.He said: “The safety of workers is of paramount importance.“We have to protect workers in the workplace. It's very unfortunate that we have had this type of situation where someone could have been hurt.“We are seeing this kind of violence in Bermuda and something should be done.”Mr Furbert said safety concerns had been an issue “for quite some time” as managers had not been meeting with workers on a regular basis.He added: “It's sa shame that a shooting had to happen for us to get a meeting. It shouldn't have come to this.”A spokesman for the Parks Department said: "The meeting was held with all staff of the Department of Parks to confirm the Government’s support after what was a shocking and unfortunate incident which occurred yesterday and which involved employees of the Department of Parks."In attendance were the Acting Minister of Public Works, Neletha Butterfield, who addressed the staff, the Acting Secretary to the Cabinet, Judith Hall-Bean, and the President, Chris Furbert and representatives of the Bermuda Industrial Union."Members of staff expressed their feelings about the incident. Also present were officers of the Department of Court Services, lead by its Director, Gina Hurst-Maybury who offered their professional counseling expertise to any staff member who required their services as a result of the incident."The outcome of the meeting included a commitment by the management of the Department of Parks to meet on an urgent basis with representatives of the staff to discuss any and all measures in place to ensure the health and safety of the entire workforce going forward."Anyone with any information on Wednesday's shooting in Paget should contact the Serious Crime Unit on 295-0011 or the Crime Stoppers hotline on 900-8477.

Police make arrest

A man has been arrested in connection with a shooting incident on Wednesday.

A Police spokesman said: “A Pembroke man in his 20s is currently in custody in connection with the confirmed firearm incident that occurred around 2.20pm on Wednesday, October 5 at South Road roundabout in Paget.

“Detectives are reviewing CCTV footage from the area and are interested in speaking with any members of the public who were in the vicinity, particularly anyone who was travelling along Trimingham Road or South Road in Paget at the time or anyone that may have been negotiating the roundabout during the incident.

“The investigation into this matter is ongoing and anyone with any information is encouraged to contact the Serious Crime Unit on 295-0011 or the independent, confidential Crime Stoppers hotline on 800-8477.”