The police investigation into two St. Thomas shooting deaths at the Double Play Bar in lower Kronprindsens Gade in February was officially closed Friday with investigators concluding it was a murder-suicide.
On Feb. 25, police responded to a reported shooting at the bar to find two shooting victims, according to the V.I. Police Department. Emergency medical technicians responded and determined both victims were dead at the scene.
According to witnesses, one of the men, Daniel Gomez Ozuna, entered the bar and shot Gerald Pena twice in the head before turning the gun on himself a short time later, killing himself with a gunshot to the head.
The ruling of murder-suicide was based on the findings of Medical Examiner Dr. Francisco Landron, who performed the autopsy, as well as statements of witnesses and physical evidence sent away for analysis after being collected on the scene.
“It was not just two victims in this senseless situation." St. Thomas Police Chief Rodney Querrard said in Friday’s announcement. "No matter what the outcome was in this investigation the two individuals who died … had families and friends, who today, and will probably forever ask themselves why, and how, this could happen. There have to be other ways other than the ‘last resort’ … no matter what the situation may be.
"We as a people, as a human race are resorting to the ‘caveman mentality’ to settle differences. We are supposed to be way beyond that. Unfortunately, it appears that life, the precious gift we were all given, for many people means nothing."
Querrard went on to exhort Virgin Islanders to get involved and help be part of the solution to violent crime.
"Let us do our best to guide our children to be future leaders in this community," he said. "Make every effort to spend as much time as possible with them so they would not have to look for “adult guidance” elsewhere. And remember, ‘It takes a village!’”
