By JOHN McCARTHY / V.I. Free Press News Reporter
CHARLOTTE AMALIE — A horrifying spike in gun violence saw the territory record three separate murders in a span of just four hours and 11 minutes on Tuesday, culminating in an evening shooting in Sanchez Town that left an unidentified man dead.
The bloodbath began at 3:40 p.m. in the Hospital Ground area of St. Thomas with the fatal shooting of 23-year-old Asani Henry, followed less than three hours later by the Sanchez Town homicide, and ended just 84 minutes later at 7:53 p.m. when 20-year-old Amani Daley was found shot to death in Profit Hills on St. Croix.
In the middle of this unprecedented, rapid-fire cross-island surge, the Virgin Islands Police Department confirmed that at approximately 6:29 p.m., the 911 Emergency Call Center lit up with reports from concerned citizens detailing gunfire in the Sanchez Town area of St. Thomas. Callers quickly notified dispatchers that a male victim was down on the ground.
First responders and district patrol officers dispatched to the scene discovered the unresponsive male. Emergency medical personnel examined the victim, who showed no vital signs, and he was officially pronounced deceased at the scene.
All necessary specialized units responded to lock down the area, and the case has been handed over to the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB). As of Wednesday morning, police officials are withholding the identity of the deceased pending the formal notification of his next of kin.
With three murders logged in less than four and a half hours—and a separate fatal shooting on Monday evening in Whim that brings the total to four homicides in 26 hours—the VIPD’s total unsolved homicide count for the year has ballooned. The gruesome timeline has intensified massive public pressure on Police Commissioner Mario Brooks and Government House to deliver answers.
Anyone with any information regarding the Sanchez Town shooting is urged to contact the Criminal Investigation Bureau at 340-774-2211, call 911, or submit an anonymous tip through Crime Stoppers USVI at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).