A 24-year-old man, a resident of the Ruby Housing Community in Christiansted, was shot to death late Thursday, according to the V.I. Police Department.
The victim was identified as Luis Vergas.
It was the sixth homicide on St. Croix since the first of the year, the 18th in the territory.
According to the police report, the 911 center received a call at 11:08 p.m. Thursday reporting gunfire in the vicinity of the Ruby Housing Community, located in the Water Gut area. Officers traveled to the scene and found an unresponsive male lying on the ground of Building 3 Ruby Housing Community.
Emergency medical technicians arrived at the scene and found no signs of life in the victim, who was later identified as Vergas, a resident of the community.
Preliminary information suggested that Vergas may not have been shot where he was found, police said, because one of his slippers was found on the other side of the housing community adjacent to the David Hamilton Jackson Terrace.
The homicide is under active investigation. Police asked anyone with information concerning the incident to phone the Criminal Investigation Bureau at 340-712-6024 or 340-712-6037, the 911 emergency call center, or the anonymous tip service, Crime Stoppers USVI, at 1-800-222-8477.
