CHARLOTTE AMALIE — Virgin Islands Police said a suspect has been arrested in a nearby residential neighborhood after a midnight shooting in Smith Bay early Saturday.
The suspect, a male minor who lives in Anna’s Retreat, faces possible charges of illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition, the Virgin Islands Police Department said.
Members of the Operation Over Watch Task Force, a VIPD-led Anti-Violent Crime Task Force, were patrolling the area of Tabor and Harmony when they observed a white sedan with front end damage travelling westward, according to the VIPD.
“The vehicle in question was stated earlier to have possibly been involved in a shooting that occurred in the Smith Bay area and was seen by witnesses fleeing the area,” VIPD Communications Director Glen Dratte said. “When members of the Task Force intercepted the vehicle in question, the driver of the vehicle in question entered a residential area in an attempt to evade officers.”
When officers again contacted the vehicle, an inspection of the white sedan discovered that there was a male occupant in the driver’s seat and a female occupant in the passenger seat, police said.
Officers immediately asked each occupants (later identified to be minors) to exit the vehicle, it was observed that the male occupant began to touch and push down on the waist band area of his pant as if to conceal something, according to police.
The male minor was asked if he was in possession of a firearm, or any other weapon and he refused to answer.
“The male minor was patted down for officers’ safety and it was revealed that the minor was in possession of a fully loaded 15-round capacity Pistol Glock 22 Austria SN# WPK595 .40 Cal firearm which was tucked in the front part of his waistband above his groin area,” according to Dratte.
The suspect was asked if he had a license to carry a firearm to which he replied that he did not, police said.
The male minor was placed into protective custody and transported to the Juvenile Bureau at Richard N. Callwood Command, according to police
The VIPD Juvenile Investigation Bureau was notified of the shooting incident and arrest. Police also contacted the male minor’s parents.
The unnamed suspect was advised of his rights in the presence of his parents. He was released into the custody of his parents pending further court action.
The male minor has not been named by authorities because he is not yet 18 years old, the age of majority.
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