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ST. CROIX — A 31-year-old woman was shot and killed late Saturday night after two unidentified individuals approached her vehicle in the driveway of her Estate Rattan home and opened fire, bringing the U.S. Virgin Islands' homicide count for 2026 to 46.
The victim was identified by next of kin as Torae Sanders, according to the V.I. Police Department. Her death marks the 28th homicide on St. Croix this year, while St. Thomas has recorded 18. No homicides have been reported on St. John.
According to VIPD Director of Communications Glen Dratte, preliminary information indicates that Ms. Sanders had arrived in the driveway of her residence when two unidentified individuals approached her vehicle and discharged multiple shots, striking her in the upper body.
The 911 Emergency Call Center received a report of a female gunshot victim in Estate Rattan at approximately 11:48 p.m. Saturday, October 31.
Emergency personnel responded, and Ms. Sanders was transported by ambulance to the Juan F. Luis Hospital and Medical Center, where she succumbed to her injuries.
Mr. Dratte said the suspects remain unidentified and described the investigation as “very, very active.”
Police have not disclosed what led to the shooting or whether Ms. Sanders knew her attackers.
Her killing came less than a day after another fatal shooting on St. Thomas, where 39-year-old Evan Haynes Jr., an Ohio resident, was killed early Saturday morning on Hull Bay Road.
According to the VIPD, emergency dispatchers received reports of gunfire at approximately 4:42 a.m. A woman subsequently reported that she and her friends had been chased and fired upon by someone traveling in another vehicle. Mr. Haynes, who sustained gunshot wounds, was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency medical personnel.
His killing brought the territory's homicide count to 45 before Ms. Sanders's death pushed the total to 46.
The two shootings followed a particularly violent period on St. Croix, where three people were killed in less than four days between October 20 and October 24.
On October 20, 24-year-old Jahmarie Warden was shot and killed in Old Fredensborg. Police responding to a gunshot detection alert discovered him unresponsive near a vehicle that had been damaged by gunfire.
Two days later, on October 22, 17-year-old Ky'janny Niles was fatally shot at the Walter I.M. Hodge Housing Community, commonly known as Sofarelli, in Frederiksted. An 18-year-old man was also wounded in the shooting but survived.
Police subsequently arrested 19-year-old Carim Fingal and charged him with first-degree murder, first-degree assault and carrying a dangerous weapon during the commission of a crime in connection with Niles's death.
Then, early on October 24, 35-year-old Hillman Faucher Jr. was shot outside The Hide Out Bar on Queen Street in Christiansted. He was transported to Juan F. Luis Hospital, where medical personnel pronounced him dead.
Those three killings raised the territory's homicide count to 44, before Saturday's fatal shootings on St. Thomas and St. Croix brought the number to 46.
With 28 homicides recorded on St. Croix and 18 on St. Thomas, the territory continues to grapple with deadly gun violence as the year enters its final two months.
The VIPD's Major Crimes Unit is continuing its investigation into Ms. Sanders's killing.
Anyone with information is urged to contact the Criminal Investigation Bureau at 340-778-2211, Crime Stoppers V.I. at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), or 911.
