CHRISTIANSTED — Four men have been confirmed wounded in a drive-by shooting in the Richmond area of St. Croix tonight, eyewitness and police reports say.
All four injured men were taken to the Juan F. Luis Hospital for treatment, VIPD spokesman Glen Dratte told the Virgin Islands Free Press tonight.
“Preliminary findings revealed a group of male individuals where sitting on the bench in David Hamilton Jackson Terrace Housing Community, when a vehicle drove in and opened fire striking four of the men,” Dratte said in a written statement released at 9:55 a.m. Saturday. “The men all received serious injuries from a high-powered rifle and are in serious but stable condition.”
The V.I. Free Press contacted Dratte just after 9 p.m. tonight after getting an eyewitness account that 50 to 70 rounds of ammunition had been fired in one minute’s time about 8:55 p.m.
Dratte confirmed that a shooting took place tonight and that “several” people had been wounded and taken to the hospital as a result of the shooting, with as many as five people injured.
The 911 Emergency Call Center was alerted to the shooting at 8:56 p.m. tonight, he said, referring the V.I. Freep to 911 emergency dispatchers for further information.
The witness said they were in the D. Hamilton Jackson Terrace area when the incident happened in real time and didn’t see the gunfire but heard it and said that the shots rang out in such rapid fashion that at least two machine pistols or a high-powered rifle must have been used by the gunman or gunmen.
The witness also said that the noise sounded like “firecrackers,” or the grand finale of a fireworks show on the Fourth of July.
St. Croix Police Chief William Harvey is asking the community or anyone having any information about this shooting and other crimes to please contact the Virgin Islands Police Department at (340) 778-2211, Criminal Investigation Bureau.
You can also contact Crime Stoppers at 1(800) 222-8477 or 911.
This matter is currently under active investigation by the CIB.
Harvey said the VIPD “is working 24/7 to preserve the safety in this community, however we need your help,”
“Crime Stoppers continue to offer reward money at the anonymous tip-line leading to an arrest or apprehension,” he said. “We all can make a difference; the information you provide may just make that difference.”
