Four people were injured in a pair of shooting incidents that took place in a 12-hour period on St. Croix, the V.I. Police Department reported.
The VIPD did not release the names of any of the victims. According to police reports, at roughly 3:28 p.m. Monday, officers were dispatched to the Gov. Juan F. Luis Memorial Hospital in response to two gunshot victims seeking treatment.
The victims told the responding officers that they were near the bushy area in Estate LaGrange, east of the ballpark, as one of the two tended his horse and the other stood at a nearby tree. A vehicle drove up to the first victim, who had been tending to his horse. They said an argument broke out and an unidentified male exited the rear of the vehicle brandishing a gun. He demanded the victim’s gold chain.
The 31-year-old victim said he pushed the gun away with his left hand and was shot. The 27-year-old victim said he came running to the aid of his friend and was shot in the right forearm.
No one called 911 to report the incident and the two drove themselves to the hospital for treatment.
In the early morning hours of Tuesday, a St. Croix couple was transported to JFL Hospital after having been involved in a shooting and car chase, leaving one of the victims in stable condition and the other in critical.
According to a preliminary report, the couple (a 30-year-old male and 24-year-old female) was sitting in a car parked in William’s Delight at 12:27 a.m. when gunfire suddenly rang out from a vehicle behind them. The female passenger was struck by a bullet and her male companion drove off onto the Melvin H. Evans Highway, as the pair attempted to make their way to the police station in Frederiksted for assistance.
The suspects followed the couple, shooting at their vehicle and ramming it from behind repeatedly.
The couple’s car became disabled near the intersection of Good Hope intersection, the two fled the disabled vehicle on foot and the suspects then chased the male victim, shooting him multiple times.
The woman ran out onto the roadway and was able to flag-down a passing motorist, who contacted the police and an ambulance service for the pair. The couple was taken to JFL for treatment of their wounds.
The woman was last reported to have been in stable condition while the man listed as being in critical condition.
Detectives investigating both incidents asked anyone with information concerning the incidents either to phone 911 or contact the anonymous tip service, Crime Stoppers USVI, at 1-800-222-8477.
