Man Shot Near Church In Anna’s Retreat Early Sunday Won’t Talk To Police: VIPD

CHARLOTTE AMALIE — Police are investigating after a man was shot near a church in St. Thomas’ second-largest town just after midnight on Sunday.

The 911 Emergency Call Center was notified of a gunshot victim at the Schneider Regional Medical Center (SRMC) at 12:23 a.m. Sunday, the Virgin Islands Police Department said.

Officers attempted to speak to the 27-year-old male victim about what transpired, but the victim was uncooperative with the officers, according to the VIPD.

“Further investigation into the incident revealed that an incident occurred in Anna’s Retreat, in the vicinity of Holy Family Church, where several shots were fired during an apparent altercation,” VIPD spokesman Toby Derima said.

Detectives are asking anyone who saw or knows what happened to call 911, the Criminal Investigation Bureau at (340) 774-2211 extension 5572, or Crime Stoppers USVI at (800) 222-TIPS.

Anna’s Retreat has a population of 7,600, making it the second-largest town in St. Thomas after Charlotte Amalie.

John F. McCarthy is a veteran journalist in the Caribbean, writing from the "Decision Space" where survival meets the surreal. His reporting steel was tempered by a lineage of legendary editors and broadcasters, including Ed Wynn Brant (The Bomb), Owen Eschenroder (Ann Arbor News), Lynelle Emanuel (BVI Beacon), and Charles Thanas (WSVI-TV). Alongside longtime colleague Kenneth C. "Casey" Clark, McCarthy has navigated the front lines of the territory’s history—from the 1997 volcanic "snow" to every major hurricane since Hugo. Known for leaning out of doorless helicopters to capture the "money shot," McCarthy now edits the V.I. Free Press, providing the essential link between the island's colonial past and its SpaceX future.