Loud Explosions At V.I. National Guard Unnerve Colquhoun Residents; But It Was F.B.I.-Sponsored Drill
- Ernice Gilbert
- July 15, 2016
ST. CROIX -- Residents of Colquhoun (Mount Pleasant) were twice shaken by loud explosions coming from the Virgin Islands National Guard base located across the neighborhood in Estate Bethlehem, disorienting animals, the elderly and sending widespread panic through that community. A resident of Colguhoun, Johanna Bermudez-Ruiz, described the explosions to The Consortium as sounding like bombs weighing 200 to 500 pounds. She said residents frantically called 911 seeking information and guidance, and were informed that V.I.N.G. was conducting an exercise. "They could not tell us when it would stop, how many days V.I.N.G. would continue to practice bomb-like explosions, and what was being practiced that sounded like 200 to 500 pound bomb," Mrs. Bermudez-Ruiz said. She added that senators Nereida Rivera-O'Reilly and Sammuel Sanes were contacted at the time and were surprised to learn of the exercise through complaints. Members of the 23rd Civil Support Team, Virgin Islands National G...
