FREDERIKSTED — Police are investigating after a 38-year-old St. Croix man was shot multiple times and died near King Street on Monday night.
Jahni Hamilton was positively identified by a family member as the homicide victim, the Virgin Islands Police Department said.
The case began at 8:08 p.m. when the 911 Emergency Call Center alerted to “several” ShotSpotter notifications, according to the VIPD.
In all, some 49 rounds fired in vicinity of Jordan’s Supermarket at 228 King Street in Frederiksted town, VIPD spokeswoman Kishma Chichester said.
REST IN PEACE: Jahni Hamilton, 38, of Frederiksted in St. Croix.
“Also, there were several phone calls from concerned citizens stating they heard shots fired,” Chichester added.
VIPD, Criminal Investigation Bureau and the Forensics Unit were dispatched to the active crime scene and while there learned that Hamilton was in a private vehicle heading to Juan F. Luis Hospital, police said.
Hamilton was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital, according to police.
The deceased, Hamilton, had spent nearly all of his adult life in prison for violent assaults but was released for six months on parole in July of 2021.
At that time, Hamilton was arrested for brandishing a rifle and charged with carrying a firearm openly or concealed during the commission of a crime of violence and third-degree assault.
The 2021 arrest occurred after police responded to a report of a man brandishing an AR-15 rifle at Concordia Manor in Frederiksted on July 27 at around 5:45 p.m., according to an affidavit filed by police.
Officers interviewed multiple witnesses and reviewed video evidence that showed Hamilton “pointed a rifle through a duffle bag” while threatening several people.
The witnesses told police that Hamilton said he was at the apartment complex to retrieve a weightlifting set, and started an argument with people at the complex while brandishing the AR-15 inside the duffle bag.
A witness told police he could identify the type of rifle Hamilton was carrying because he saw the receiver and muzzle sticking out of the bag.
Police located Hamilton, but not the rifle.
No suspect in currently in custody for the Monday night shooting death of Hamilton.