La Terraza Bar and Restaurant in Castle Coakley, near where brothers Yordani Eduardo and Delli Eduardo were fatally shot early Sunday in a double homicide now under investigation by VIPD. Photo Credit: VIPD.
ST. CROIX — At a Friday evening Rally Against Gun Violence held at La Terraza Bar and Restaurant, near where brothers Yordani Eduardo and Delli Eduardo were fatally shot less than two weeks earlier, community organizers working alongside the V.I. Office of Gun Violence Prevention urged St. Croix residents to help the brothers’ family cover funeral expenses through a Sunday fundraiser and a memorial softball tournament continuing through the weekend.
Friday’s rally ran from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. at La Terraza, next to Man Camp, and was promoted as a community march against gun violence. The event carried the message, “Together we can stop the violence. Together we can save lives,” with organizers emphasizing the impact of violence on the community, young people and the territory’s future.
During the event, attention also turned to the immediate needs of the Eduardo family. Organizers invited the public to Morena Place on Sunday, August 23, for a fundraiser benefiting the family of the two brothers, who were killed August 9.
“We just want the entire community to come out, support, and just be there with us while we are just trying to help a mother who lost her two sons,” one organizer said.
Food and drinks will be sold at Sunday’s event, while residents who do not wish to purchase anything are also encouraged to bring donations. Organizers said the money raised will go toward funeral expenses for the brothers.
A softball tournament is providing another avenue of support. Organizers said the tournament, being held in memory of one of the brothers and referred to during Friday’s event as “Deji,” began Thursday at D.C. Canegata Ballpark. It continued Friday with a 7 p.m. game, with additional games scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Organizers encouraged residents to attend both the tournament and Sunday’s fundraiser, saying the weekend’s activities are intended to help raise money for the family as it prepares to lay the brothers to rest.
Wilfrido Ferrera, speaking in Spanish at Friday’s event, echoed the appeal for assistance. He urged residents across St. Croix and the wider Virgin Islands community to support the Eduardo family, whether by attending the food and beverage sale at Morena Place, making a donation or participating in the softball tournament.
The rally and fundraising efforts follow the August 9 killings of 30-year-old Yordani Eduardo and 25-year-old Delli Eduardo near La Terraza Bar and Restaurant in Castle Coakley. At approximately 4:13 a.m. that morning, the St. Croix 911 Emergency Call Center received multiple reports of two gunshot victims in the area.
Police and Emergency Medical Services personnel found one of the brothers unresponsive with an apparent gunshot wound to the upper body. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The second brother was transported by private vehicle to Juan F. Luis Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. Their deaths brought St. Croix’s homicide count to 17 for the year at that point and the territorywide count to 30.
Later that day, the V.I. Police Department issued a notice identifying 27-year-old Eryk Simon as wanted in connection with the double homicide and warned the public that he should be considered armed and dangerous. VIPD said the Criminal Investigation Bureau was investigating the killings.
Twelve days after the brothers were killed, Friday’s rally brought the anti-gun-violence message back to La Terraza while also focusing on the family left behind. Organizers are now asking residents to carry that support into the weekend by attending the remaining softball games and Sunday’s fundraiser at Morena Place.
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