FREDERIKSTED — A 28-year-old St. Croix man was shot and killed near a bar and grille in Williams Delight late last night, authorities said.
The 911 Emergency Call Center was notified by a concerned citizen of shots fired near the Williams Delight stoplight at 11:09 p.m. Friday, the Virgin Islands Police Department said.
Olson Tyson of Mount Pleasant Apartments was identified as the homicide victim by family members, according to the VIPD.
“Officers traveled to the area to investigate and found an unresponsive adult male with gunshot wounds on the ground,” VIPD spokesman Toby Derima said.
Emergency Medical Technicians on the scene concluded that Tyson had no vital signs, Derima said.
St. Croix District Chief of Police Sidney Elskoe denounced this latest shooting death, calling for an end to the gun violence in the territory.
“I was on the scene of another senseless homicide and watched the anguish of another destroyed family try to comprehend the death of their loved one,” Chief Elskoe said. “It is time for the entire community to say, NO MORE! No matter how bad the situation may get, resorting to using guns to resolve differences is a tragic solution. We need to encourage our young men to put the guns down.”
Chief Elskoe also stated that the VIPD will use all available resources to solve this and other unsolved homicides.
There have been 39 homicides in the territory to date; 21 on St. Croix, 17 on St. Thomas and one on St. John.
Detectives are urging everyone with information about this incident to contact police with what they know by calling 911, the Crime Tip Line at (340) 778-4950, or anonymously to Crime Stoppers USVI at (800) 222-8477.
Your tips can be the information the VIPD needs to solve this crime. “Remember, if you see something, say something.”