CHARLOTTE AMALIE —Police are investigating after a 28-year-old man was fatally shot in St. Thomas late Sunday afternoon, authorities said.
Matthew Gumbs was shot “multiple times” and died in Mariendahl about 5:01 p.m. Sunday, the Virgin Islands Police Department said.
The case began when a concerned citizen told a 911 dispatcher there was a “man down and he was bleeding,” according to the VIPD.
“The caller then informed dispatchers the male appeared to be shot and was unresponsive,” VIPD spokeswoman Kishma Chichester said. “Responding patrol units traveled to the area of Mariendahl, and discovered an unresponsive, black male, who appeared to have suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the upper body.”
Emergency Medical Technicians arrived on the crime scene and checked Matthews for vital signs and
“concluded that he did not have any signs of life,” according to Chichester.
The male was positively identified by next of kin as 28-year-old Matthew Gumbs, she said.
Matthews’ death marks the territory’s sixth homicide reported so far this year, including three on St. Croix and three on St. Thomas.
But there has been at least seven shooting deaths in the U.S. Virgin Islands in first 67 days of 2025, including an officer-involved killing at Lorraine Village Apartments in St. Croix on January 5.
The Matthews case remains under active investigation.
Anyone who has relevant information about this homicide is urged to please contact 911, or the Major Crimes Unit of the Virgin Islands Police Department at 340-774-2211 ext. 5555 or 5556, or 340-714-9823 or 340-714-9829. You can also contact Crime Stoppers USVI at 1-800-222-8477.