Cruel jibes about gang connections are making the grief of murder victim Lorenzo Stovell’s family harder to bear, they said yesterday.Mr Stovell’s relatives acknowledged that the 24-year-old, who was partially paralysed in a previous shooting, got caught in “Town vs Country” rivalry as a younger man.However, they said he grew up to be a family man who had given up “stupid things” and turned his life around.Mr Stovell, of Middletown Lane, Pembroke, was killed by a gunman riding a motorcycle as he sat aboard a minibus near Woody’s bar in Sandys on Sunday night.A large group of female friends and relatives were having a double birthday celebration, and were drinking in the bar at the time.Police said on Monday that they are investigating a “gang aspect” to the murder which occurred in an area plagued by the west-end based Money Over Bitches gang, which is locked in rivalry with Pembroke gangs.One of Mr Stovell’s cousins told The Royal Gazette yesterday: “Our family is from Middletown and we have always lived there. People say people are in a gang just because of the address.“They are going to class them as a gang member like they think they deserved what they got. Obviously, that’s going to make us irate.“Not everybody is an angel but Lorenzo was an original family man. He was a family-orientated person who loved family and children and to be around us, but they label him as a gangster.”The cousin asked that her name not be printed.The victim’s sister, Laurie-Ann Stovell, 29, said: “At first it bothered me what people are saying, but this is Bermuda and people are small-minded.“People are going to say what they like, but I know who my brother was.”According to the victim’s family, he had friends who are in various Pembroke factions, having known them all since school days.“When it was the fist fights and the ‘Town and Country’ war, yes, he was caught up in that because he was from Middletown but he was never a gangster,” said Ms Stovell.“He did stupid things that little boys do when he was 15, 16, but in the last few years my brother has made so much change.“He liked music and was into football. He played for Boulevard a few times and supported Manchester United. He was trying to do better for himself.“He was trying to change even before he got shot the first time. He got a job at FedEx and he had a girlfriend at the time and his life was work and home.“My son and my brother were close. My son is ten years old and he’s broken.”Mr Stovell’s brother, Antrone Stovell, 23, said: “He was not innocent but he had changed a lot. We were close.“He was my big brother and we would do everything under the sun together. I’m hurting but my family my 15-month-old son, my sister and my friends have been showing support.”The family recalled how Mr Stovell, who was single with no children, was left depressed after being shot last December.The incident, outside Gravity nightclub in Devonshire, saw him injured in the back, shoulder and arms, and he was left in a wheelchair as a result.His cousin said: “He was depressed after he got shot the first time because he couldn’t do what he wanted.“He wasn’t even supposed to be on the bus on Sunday night. Even though he had this upbeat attitude he was very depressed, and having a hard time dealing with it. He just wanted to be out of the house.”Mr Stovell had difficulty moving and was not seated in his wheelchair at the time of the attack.“Although we know there were issues with him and some of the boys from Somerset some time ago, never did we think that someone could be so cruel as to do something like this. He was defenceless and couldn’t do nothing,” said his cousin.His sister added: “He was suffering when he was alive but he’s not suffering now. My family is suffering but he’s at peace.”The tragedy was the latest in a string to hit the family. Mr Stovell’s cousin, Shaki Crockwell, was shot dead in August 2007 over a drug debt.The killer, Derek Spalding, was sentenced to 38 years in jail after being convicted earlier this year.Mr Stovell’s nephew Azenje Smith Laurie-Ann Stovell’s son passed away in June 2009 from a rare genetic disorder. Cousin Tumaini Steede, a national-level football player, died in a bike crash last July.Mr Stovell’s cousin said yesterday: “We are growing accustomed to death. We are grieving but we are still numb.”A 24-year-old man from Sandys was arrested on Monday over the murder and remained in custody yesterday.No weapon has been recovered and Detective Chief Inspector Nicholas Pedro said: “We continue to seek the assistance of the community to get this weapon off the streets of Bermuda to prevent further loss of life or injury.”Asked if he could clarify what the police meant when they said they were investigating a “gang aspect” to the murder, he said: “We are treating this as a gang related murder.“This is distinct and different from saying the deceased was a bona fide gang member.“Suffice to say, we know through the investigation and his previous history that the deceased did not have friends in Somerset hence why he remained on the bus in Somerset, and not at the other locations they visited earlier in the night.”Anyone who can help the investigation should call the Serious Crime Unit on 247-1739 or the independent and confidential Crime Stoppers hotline, 800-8477.