Gun victim Raymond Troy (Yankee) Rawlins was told to ask for God's salvation if he ever found himself shot just a few weeks before he was murdered.

Community activist Gina Spence Farmer, whose son-in-law was gunned down earlier this year, saw Mr. Rawlings shortly before the Cup Match holiday.

They have known each other for a long time and she said they had an honest relationship.

"I told him exactly how I felt about him, there was no sugar coating" she told The Royal Gazette. "But there was another side I don't think many saw, his spiritual side.

"I think he got lost in the craziness. I think he wanted to get out of [the gang life] but didn't know how, this Island is so small.

"I think he knew this [his murder] was something that could happen at any time.

"When I saw him at Culture Fest [the day before Cup Match] I said to him 'make me a promise if you ever find yourself in a situation like a shooting to cry out God save me'.

"That was the last thing I said to him and he said OK, he walked out saying 'God save me, God save me' like he was joking, but I like to believe he did because he did not die immediately."

Mrs. Spence Farmer was talking with grieving family and friends yesterday along with preacher Scott Smith. She said many on the Court Street felt hopeless.

And Mr. Smith said Bermuda's many churches were not doing enough to reach those involved in, and impacted by, Bermuda's spiralling gun crime.

"There are a lot of people out here hurting, feeling helpless, and where are the churches?" he asked. "Where is the spiritual guidance?

"We need to close down the churches for a month and get them out on the street. I want to see preachers in these neighbourhoods knocking on families' doors. Show them you are not just about making money, show them you are not just about fashion. How can you show them God's love if you don't see them?

"We need to take Bermuda back and we need spiritual leaders for that."