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ST. THOMAS — Two men are dead and another is hospitalized in critical condition, after a shooting in the early hours of Monday morning in St. Thomas.
The V.I. Police Department announced that several 911 calls were received around 2:09 am, reporting that shots had been fired in Norre Gade, St. Thomas, near the Lutheran Church.
Responding officers found “one black male” slumped over on the front passenger seat of an SUV. Emergency Medical Technicians found no signs of life.
Two other men were at the emergency room of Schneider Regional Medical Center with gunshot injuries, however 21-year old Taheem Monsanto succumbed to his injuries while being treated.
The identity of the man in the SUV is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.
As they continue to investigate, police are, as always, asking the community to disclose any information they may have about the incident to contact the VIPD at 340-774-2211, or the Major Crimes Division at 340-642-8449. Those wishing to contact Crime Stoppers may do so at 1-800-222-8477, or here.
The two homicides were the sixth and seventh in the USVI for 2023, which had recorded four in the month of January alone. The first homicide occurred on Jan. 15 in Market Square, St. Thomas, where a man was pronounced dead after being shot multiple times, while the second incident took place in Coki Point on Jan. 19, according to the police department. The third occurred in Sunny Isle, St. Croix, where a hail of gunfire resulted in the death of 20-year-old Andy Christian of Estate Whim. On Sunday Jan. 29, 31-year-old Chandler Heath was shot dead in Bolongo, St. Thomas, then on Monday, Feb. 13, 27-year-old Ajaye Thompson was shot to death in the area of Lovenlund, St. Thomas at about 8:32 p.m.
St. Thomas-St. John District Police Chief Steven Phillips called on the community to help expose individuals terrorizing the USVI. "This violence has to stop right now," the chief said forcefully. "We are seeing a recent uptick of gun violence, especially in St. Thomas." The chief said the investigation is in its early stages and that all leads were being followed, but he noted that such incidents can be solved swiftly and criminals brought to justice if the community shares information with law enforcement. "We don't have information at this time so please come forward, be the guardians of the community. Let's do our best to curtail this gun violence; we are our brother's keepers."
The chief added, "Although we are doing our best to take guns off the street, we're still seeing random acts of violence."
The Consortium is covering this developing story.
