Two Men Were Shot Dead On Friday Night

Two men were killed after being shot late Friday — one on the island of St. Croix and the other in St. Thomas, V.I.P.D. Public Information Officer Glen Dratte confirmed to The Consortium Saturday morning.

The homicides occurred on the official opening night of the Virgin Islands Carnival, and V.I.P.D. Commissioner Delroy Richards, sought to reassure the community that safety remains a top priority for the V.I.P.D. during the carnival season.

“We have made it clear to the community that we’re going to provide the level of police service that will allow Virgin Islanders and visitors to enjoy carnival on St. Thomas,” Mr. Richards said.

The St. Thomas homicide did not occur anywhere near the carnival village, and did not appear to be connected. Likewise on St. Croix, the incident was completely disengaged from the festivities.

“We had a homicide in St. Croix, we had a homicide in St. Thomas, those are homicides we can’t prevent. If a group of guys on a basketball court get in some melee and somebody’s hurt, it’s unfortunate,” the commissioner said, referring to the St. Croix incident.

In regards to the St. Thomas homicide, which occurred at about 5:38 p.m. in the Kerwin Terrance Housing Community, Mr. Richards said, “The same like St. Thomas, somebody’s sitting by a chicken coop and somebody walks up and shoot him, it’s unfortunate. But we will investigate it, we will attempt to locate the perpetrators, and we will bring them forward.

“In the meantime, we will continue to provide the police service that we normally do for carnival in St. Thomas and St. Croix to ensure that people have a good time for J’ouvert and all the functions for carnival. I’m not going to allow this to deter people from enjoying themselves,” Mr. Richards added.

The commissioner said officers from St. Croix were sent to St. Thomas to help with security for the carnival season, which is a routine strategy the V.I.P.D. employs during the territory’s major cultural events.

According to Mr. Dratte, officers responded to a 911 dispatch that sent them in the Kerwin Terrance Housing Community, after community members reported that gunshots had been fired.

Upon arrival, officers with the Special Operations Bureau and the Criminal Investigation Bureau, met a young man lying lifeless on the ground who had suffered multiple gunshot wounds about his body. The victim’s identity was not released by the V.I.P.D., as next of kin had not yet been notified.

As for the St. Croix homicide, Mr. Dratte said police received a call on Friday night at 8:30 p.m. about a shooting in the vicinity of Golden Rock (the incident actually occurred at a basketball court behind Harbor View, Mr. Dratte later clarified).

Upon arrival, officers met an unresponsive male who was shot multiple times and died on the scene. He was identified by his siblings as 20-year-old Kevon Benjamin Edwards.

Police are asking anyone with information about these incidents to contact the Criminal Investigation Bureau on St. Thomas at 340-774-2211, or on St. Croix at 340-778-2211. You may also contact Crime Stoppers USVI here.