Scene of Tuesday, Jan. 12 homicide in Gallows Bay
ST. CROIX -- A shooting incident on St. Croix this morning in Gallows Bay, between the Bank of St. Croix and Marshall and Sterling Insurance buildings, resulted in the death of one victim, according to V.I.P.D. Public Information Officer Toby Derima.
The incident is believed to have occurred around the 7:00 a.m. hour, with the victim sustaining multiple gunshot wounds, according to information shared with Mr. Derima by emergency responders on the scene.
Details of the shooting remained scarce at time of writing, but an image making the rounds shows a man holding what appears to be an object shaped like a gun in his right hand, heading toward the body of a downed man who was already appearing lifeless on the ground. It also appeared as if the man had left a red Jeep Cherokee and was headed toward the downed victim.
The victim was identified by family members as 23-year-old Michael Cruz of Sion Farm.
St. Croix Chief of Police Sidney Elskoe denounced this homicide. “Yet another family is dealing with the grief of losing a loved one to gun violence at such a young age. I am appealing to the young men in this community to put the guns down,” Chief Elskoe said.
Editor's Note: Why We Posted the Image
VI Consortium considers a number of points before we post images that may be graphic or jarring in nature. In this instance, the decision was made to publish this picture, which was already circulating on social media, because we believe it provides valuable information to the public and law enforcement that could lead to possible arrests.
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