CHARLOTTE AMALIE — A 28-year-old St. Thomas man was shot near the Tutu Hi Rise, according to the Virgin Islands Police Department (VIPD).

Thursday, May 12, 2016 at approximately 8:25 a.m., the 911 Emergency Call Center dispatched officers to the vicinity of Tutu Hi Rise in reference to a shooting victim.

Upon arrival to the scene, officers did not make contact with a victim and were advised that the victim had already been transported to the Schneider Regional Medical Center (SRMC).

Upon arrival at the hospital, contact was made with the victim later identified as 28-year-old Kaleem Stephens, who stated that he was in the area of Tutu Hi Rise when suddenly he heard shots fired towards the wall that he was standing against.

Stephens said that he felt pain to his leg and realized he was wounded. He was then transported to the hospital via private vehicle.

EDITOR’S NOTE:

In 2017, after Hurricane Irma on September 11, Stephens was interviewed by the New York Times.

“It’s survival mode right now,” said Kaleem Stephens, a 30-year-old construction worker on St. Thomas.

He was left without a home and had on the same clothes — a white t-shirt, gray basketball shorts and black basketball shoes — he was wearing when Hurricane Irma hit St. Thomas on September 6.