CHRISTIANSTED — Two women were ambushed in a hail of bullets near the shuttered Limetree Bay refinery in St. Croix late Monday night. One woman was killed and another injured.
The white Toyota Tacoma pickup truck the women were driving crashed as the injured driver tried frantically to escape off of the no exit Container Port Road. The crash left the driver and passenger trapped in the vehicle.
Officers received a 911 call at around 10:55 p.m. Monday and responded to the crash scene where they found spent shell casings in the road and bullet holes in the body of the truck.
The driver, identified as 58-year-old Maria Marte of Little Princesse, had been shot and was dead when police finally arrived.
Emergency personnel removed the passenger from the truck and took her to Juan F. Luis Hospital for treatment.
Forensic technicians, officers from the Criminal Investigation Bureau, and the morgue attendant were also notified and responded to the scene, authorities said.
The passenger told police that she and Marte had dropped off some friends at the Container Port and as they were leaving headed west, they saw a dark-colored vehicle driving east, attempting to flag them down, St. Croix Chief of Detectives Lt. Naomi Joseph told the V.I. Daily News.
The women did not stop and continued driving west. The dark vehicle turned around and drove up behind them, and the passenger told police that “seconds later” gunshots began hitting the vehicle.
Marte and her passenger were wounded by the gunshots, and Marte lost control of the vehicle and struck the other wall of Limetree Bay refinery, causing extensive damage to the vehicle and further injuries to both her and the passenger, Joseph said.
Police said the passenger remains in stable condition.
Detectives have not identified a motive or made any arrests in the case, and it’s unclear whether the unidentified suspect or suspects pose an ongoing threat to the community at large.
“People should always be careful while driving and be aware of their surroundings at all times,” Joseph opined. “We have people out there committing selfish criminal acts and will take what they can when the opportunity presents itself.”
Asked about a possible motive or whether the incident was random, Joseph said “as to this case we do not know the motive at this point in time for this act, so we can’t say if it’s random or targeted.”
“I can add that our beautiful island has changed and has unfortunately become a dangerous place to live,” she said.
The Container Port Road is patrolled on a regular basis during daylight hours by the Virgin islands Port Authority (VIPA). Some port entrances have private security officers on duty 24-hours per day.
Anyone with information about the fatal shooting is urged to contact the anonymous tip service at Crime Stoppers USVI, 800-222-8477, the Crime Tip line at 340-778-4950 or 340-712-6040 or 911.
