Most nights out on the islands of St. Thomas or St. Croix start with harmless fun and continue to late nightspots where spirits flow, music is played and friends laugh.
Other nights out on the town end rather tragically, however.
Since 2003 there have been 462 homicides in the territory, according to statistics compiled by the Source from Virgin Islands Police Department reports. Approximately 37 – or almost 13 percent – of these recorded homicides were stabbings, beatings or shooting deaths that took place either in a local nightclub, bar or restaurant.
Similar concerns over the causation between rising crime statistics, homicides and nightclubs were raised by police and government officials in Seattle in 2006, in Providence, R.I., in 2009 and in St. Louis in 2012.
The latest of these incidents in the territory was a violent confrontation Sunday at Metropolis Night Club that ended with three patrons being stabbed on the dance floor and a robbery at El Nuevo Tunnel Bar on Queen Cross Street in Frederiksted on Wednesday afternoon.
According to annual crime reports, victims have been shot or stabbed as they were exiting a bar or nightclub, standing near a nightclub, loitering in a parking lot, walking home from a bar or nightclub or in other cases during a concert or after a high school gathering. Most victims were in their early-to-mid 20s but some victims were as young as 14 and 15.
Not everyone agrees it’s necessarily a pattern though. Police officials said the correlation between violence and nightlife is tenuous at best. Many of these murders were retaliatory in nature, according to police reports, and VIPD Public Information Officer Melody Rames said these incidents have more to do with high crime areas, high consumption of alcohol and drug activity than anything else.
But with several high-profile violent incidents involving nightclubs, others are not so sure. Local business owners and tourism officials urge caution in unfamiliar areas.
“All crime issues are of great concern to us as they jeopardize the safety off all the people – locals and visitors alike,” said Lisa Hamilton, president of USVI Hotel & Tourism Association. Hamilton said the Department of Tourism gives safety tip cards to visitors including how to secure valuables and to stay in well-lit areas.
Rames declined to comment on whether any area nightclubs are more dangerous than others. She did give safety tips to help people avoid these situations.
“Never travel alone,” she said. “If you feel unsafe, leave the area.”
“If you feel there’s criminal activity, leave the area,” Rames said. “If you’re somewhere where people are arguing and tension is high, leave the area.”
Liz Duffy, owner and general manager of Duffy’s Love Shack on St. Thomas, said tourists looking to buy illegal drugs in Red Hook are only asking for trouble. She said tourists have even solicited drugs from off-duty cops on her security staff.
“Whenever I hear a tourist was robbed, I ask where and someone says ‘by Marina Market.’ Well that’s where all the drug dealers are,” Duffy said. “Tourists act so stupid sometimes they leave their sense somewhere else and put themselves in harm’s way.”
Duffy said struggling businesses institute lax rules to turn a quick profit and that leads to a culture of lawlessness. She has a zero tolerance policy against patrons or staff doing or selling drugs in the establishment. Once someone is caught doing either, they are banned from Duffy’s for life.
“Drug elements attract a different kind of patron,” Duffy said. “It’s a disrespect for rules and a loss of a personal moral code that contributes to an atmosphere of indecency.”
There have been a number of violent incidents at nightclubs in the last few years.
Eighteen-year-old Kishuan Stevens and another patron were stabbed inside the Hush Night Club, located off Back Street on St. Thomas, in September 2012. Stevens later succumbed to his injuries at Schneider Regional Medical Center. Calls to Hush Night Club were not returned and a posting on Facebook said the establishment might be closed permanently.
A security guard was shot and killed inside Club 54, a Christiansted nightclub, in August 2012. The suspect walked into the club and shot Ecliff James several times in the back before fleeing. Gov. John deJongh Jr. characterized the growing gun violence in the territory as an "epidemic" after James’ murder.
A 22-year-old man was shot outside Club Expose on Company Street in Christiansted in 2011. The glass entrance to the club had several bullet holes after the shooting.
Delani Richards, a 20-year-old resident of the JFK housing community, was shot and killed on the dance floor as a live band played at the former H2O restaurant in April 2011. Calls to the new owners of the establishment were not returned.
Sunday’s stabbing is also not the first violent incident near or at Metropolis. Keith Dawson, 22, was shot near Metropolis Night Club in December 2012 on the other side of its chain link fence. Dawson was later declared dead at Schneider Regional Hospital. Attempts to contact club owner Hugo Rios were unsuccessful. The phone number associated with the club is disconnected and the club is not listed in the phone book.
Duffy said she opened Duffy’s Love Shack with her late husband in 1995 with a plan to cater to all people on the island – not just a niche clientele. She claims her bar has kept that spirit even though she admits she was naïve at the time to the additional problems that come with managing a popular late nightspot.
“When crime took over we didn’t have security for the first two weeks and we were like, ‘oh my god,’” she said. “It was like Fort Apache out here.”
In a 2011 article titled “Is St. Thomas Safe for Tourists?” travel journalist Karen Elowitt makes the argument that St. Thomas is no safer or more dangerous than any place else.
