The Point Udall Monument was vandalized in 2019 by at least two white males with Molotov Cocktails. Photo Credit: VIDEO OF INCIDENT
ST. CROIX — The Virgin Islands Police Department said during a press briefing Tuesday that it has been investigating an incident that saw molotov cocktails being thrown at the Point Udall monument, called Millennium Monument, on St. Croix's East End since 2019.
A video of the incident surfaced online in recent days. In the video, at least two white males are seen throwing the molotov cocktails at the beloved monument, which was created in part to signify Point Udall as the most easterly point of the United States by travel.
When the video first surfaced, it was widely believed to have been a recent incident that sought to follow the rioting taking place in the United States alongside protests in response to the gruesome death of George Floyd, a black man, while in the custody of white police officers. However, it was later confirmed that the incident took place in 2019.
St. Croix Police Chief Sidney Elskoe said the incident took place between June and July of 2019, and that the police force had a lead on the case.
"It's important for the community to know that this incident occurred last year, June or July. The V.I.P.D. knows who they are and the investigation is ongoing," Chief Elskoe said. "It's also important to say that those events had absolutely no connection to the events on the current world stage." Mr. Elskoe said one of the individuals was once a resident of St. Croix who had relocated to the U.S. before an arrest warrant could be executed.
"The V.I.P.D. worked with the Attorney General's Office in acquiring an arrest warrant for the individual in the video," the chief said. "When we were ready to execute that arrest warrant, we learned that that person had relocated to the United States mainland. That coincided with the Covid-19 pandemic and because of that we were unable to send our officers safely to the United States to pick that person up," added the chief in response to a Consortium question seeking answers on the status of the investigation.
Chief Elskoe said he could not provide more details on the incident because his knowledge of what took place was limited, and that an investigation was underway.
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