ST. CROIX — A late-evening shooting in Estate Rattan, Christiansted, on Tuesday night left a 19-year-old woman dead and a 22-year-old man in custody facing multiple felony charges, the V.I. Police Department has confirmed.

According to police, the 911 VITEMA Emergency Call Center began receiving multiple reports of shots fired at approximately 7:58 p.m. on December 30. Callers indicated that two people had been shot in the Estate Rattan area. Officers responding to the scene discovered a woman lying unresponsive on the ground and a man suffering from a gunshot wound.

Emergency medical personnel arrived and pronounced the female victim dead at the scene. She was identified by a next of kin as Janice Rivera, 19. The male victim was transported to the Juan F. Luis Hospital for treatment. Due to the severity of his injuries, authorities said he will be airlifted off the island for further medical care.

Detectives from the Major Crime Unit within the Criminal Investigation Bureau were assigned to the case. As the investigation progressed, police identified 22-year-old Jaden M. Francis as the suspect. Investigators obtained and executed a search warrant at Francis’s residence, where they recovered a firearm, ammunition, and property belonging to the deceased victim.

In the early morning hours of December 31, at approximately 2:00 a.m., Francis was present at the Criminal Investigation Bureau office. There, he was advised of his rights and placed under arrest.

Francis has been charged with first-degree murder, first-degree assault, first-degree reckless endangerment, and third-degree assault. Bail was set at $1 million. Unable to post bail, he was remanded to the John A. Bell Golden Grove Adult Correctional Facility.

An Advice of Rights hearing for Francis is scheduled for Friday, January 2, 2026, in Superior Court. The investigation into the fatal shooting remains ongoing.