FREDERIKSTED –— What started as an online sale ended in an armed robbery Friday, authorities said.
The 911 Emergency Call Center received a call of discharging of gunshots in Estate Whim, in the vicinity of the Renholdt Jackson Sports Complex at 10:07 a.m. Friday, the Virgin Islands Police Department said.
A short time later, 911 emergency dispatcher also got a report of a black SUV chasing a tan vehicle at a high rate of speed, according to the VIPD.
“Officers were dispatched to a nearby gas station, where the victim was located. He reported to police that he went to the Jackson Sports Complex to meet a male individual who was selling a gold chain through Facebook Marketplace,” VIPD spokesman Toby Derima said.
When the buyer and the seller met, the seller brandished a firearm, and he and two other males robbed the buyer of his mobile phone and cash., according to Derima
The suspects fled the area in a tan vehicle, while firing shots at the victim, police said. The victim followed the suspects into Williams Delight, but then turned around, went to the gas station, and borrowed someone’s phone to call 911.
“The victim was unhurt, but his vehicle sustained gunshot damage,” the police spokesman said.
Detectives are urging anyone who saw what happened to call 911, the Crime Tip Line at (340) 778-4950, or Crime Stoppers USVI at (800) 222-TIPS.