A 26-year-old St. Croix man was killed Saturday in a daylight shooting at a crowded shopping area in what the V.I. Police called a targeted shooting.
The victim was identified by next of kin as Eustace Shillingford.
According to police, at 11:51 a.m. officers were dispatched to a report of shots being fired in the area of the Gallows Bay Hardware store. At the scene they discovered an unresponsive black male, later identified as Shillingford, lying on the ground in the Gallows Bay area in the vicinity of the hardware store.
Medical attendants were unable to resuscitate the victim, police said.
According to the police, the preliminary investigation suggested the incident was a targeted shooting; the victim was approached by more than one unknown individuals who fired multiple shots directly at the victim, then fled the area.
Police asked anyone with information about the homicide to contact the Criminal Investigation Bureau at 340-778-2211, the 911 call center, or the anonymous tip service, Crime Stoppers USVI, at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS.)
Tips to Crime Stoppers that result in a crime being solved may qualify the person supplying the information for an anonymous cash reward.