FREDERIKSTED — Two St. Croix men are dead after suffering multiple gunshot wounds in Estate Paradise late last night.
Steven Hodge Jr., 18, and Aurelio Rivera, 34, have been positively identified by family members as the homicide victims, the Virgin Islands Police Department said.
Emergency 911 dispatchers told officers multiple shots were fired and a man was down at Paradise Mills and another man down at the Louis E. Brown Villas about 10:32 p.m. Sunday, according to the VIPD.
Police traveled to the Louis E. Brown Apartments Phase 2 Sunday where the body of “an unresponsive male was found lying on the sidewalk,” according to police. The individual was later identified as Rivera.
“Upon the officer’s arrival in Paradise Mills they discovered an unresponsive male who was then transported to the Juan Luis Hospital via ambulance where he was later pronounced dead,” VIPD Communications Director Glen Dratte said, adding that the deceased was later identified as Hodge.
Each of the murder victims suffered multiple shots to the body, according to Dratte.
“Investigation revealed that Mr. Rivera ran from Paradise Mills to Louis E. Brown Housing Community where he dropped and succumbed to his injuries,” he said.
The police investigation continues into this shooting. The CIB is asking for information regarding the recent shootings. Call the CIB Tip-Line 340-778-4850, 340-712-6092, Crime Stoppers 1-800-222-8477 or 911.
