CHRISTIANSTED — Police said they responded to a fatal shooting at a popular Gallows Bay hardware store late this morning.
Eustace Shillingford, 26, was found shot to death lying on the ground near Gallows Bay Hardware, the Virgin Islands Police Department said.
Eyewitnesses told the Virgin Islands Free Press that the shooter wore a mask and killed Shillingford outside GBH’s garden center at the south end of the parking lot.
Police Commissioner Delroy Richards Sr. told the V.I. Free Press that Shillingford “had no affiliation” with Gallows Bay Hardware.
The 911 Emergency Call Center received a report of a shooting in Gallows Bay at 11:51 a.m. today at Gallows Bay Hardware store.
Police and Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) found “an unresponsive black male individual lying on the ground in the area of Gallows Bay, vicinity of the Gallows Bay Hardware Store.”
“Medical attendants were unable to resuscitate the victim,” VIPD spokesman Glen Dratte said.
A preliminary investigation revealed that this incident was “a targeted shooting; the victim was approached by more than one unknown individuals discharging multiple shots directly at the victim and fled the area,” Dratte said.
Police detectives are following up on leads to track down the suspect, according to the VIPD.
The deceased 26-year-old Eustace Shillingford was identified by next of kin.
Police said the Criminal Investigation Bureau is actively investigating this morning’s shooting death.
And the CIB is asking anyone with information to please call them at (340) 778-2211 Crime Stoppers USVI 1-800-222-8477 or 911.