At least three people were shot during J’ouvert, shortly before 9 a.m. Thursday, as the procession moved by the ferry mooring on the Charlotte Amalie waterfront. The parade was halted at 9:05 a.m., the V.I. Police Department has confirmed.
No fatalities have been reported at present. The investigation is in its preliminary stages and little more can be confirmed at this time, according to police officials.
"Police are pursuing all leads in this case and it is an active investigation," V.I. Police Department Public Information Officer Melody Rames said at 9:45 a.m.
Preliminary police reports indicate the shootings occurred as the procession moved by the ferry mooring on the Charlotte Amalie waterfront, Rames said. Source reporter James Gardner was near that location at the time and reported hearing no gunfire; although he said multiple bands were playing and it was quite loud.
The first sign of trouble at the location was the sound of an ambulance heading west on Veterans Drive with sirens blaring, Gardner said. After that, a police tow truck, two more ambulances and some police cars went by. These events appeared to indicate the shooting may have occurred closer to the Frenchtown Post Office, but information is sketchy at this point.
Deputy Police Chief Police Dwayne DeGraff then traveled up and down the street, telling the bands to stop playing and asking people in the streets to leave as soon as possible, that they were shutting down J’ouvert.
On Wednesday the governor and acting police commissioner had warned that incidents of violence earlier in the week could curtail remaining Carnival events.
Anyone with information on this morning’s violence is urged to call detectives at 712-6077, 712-6037 or call Crime Stoppers USVI at 1-800-222-TIPS.
For shame! What in lovely St. Thomas where nothing happens? *I am being sarcastic of course* Maybe now the administration will work with law enforcement to address the blatant crime and disrespect these criminals are showing for the law.
it seems that we have come to a place where we have an acceptable level of violence when it comes to carnival. I guess the question is how many shootings/stabbings are we willing to live with for a bowl of kalaloo or a flying fish sandwich?..two shootings? a shooting and two stabbings? perhaps we are ok with it as long as we dont have more than 3 shootings a day. or maybe as long as they are over 18? no wait, as long as they just shoot each other and perhaps some children its ok but not the tourists? As i wrote earlier, if this were in the states and minors were being shot down on a pretty regular basis they would shut it down, period. yeah i know culture yadda yadda yadda. so whats it gonna take? dead kids in the streets? is it really worth it?
And this following the Boston explosions. Isn’t it obvious that our children have all lost their way? Isn’t it obvious that the parents have lost their way? Isn’t it obvious that nobody in Government does very much….about anything, except try to shovel themselves out of the massive pile of nightsoil they’ve created, and continue to evade.
Yes, we have laws. No, the laws are not the same for everyone.
I have come to the conclusion, that things are only getting much worse, at the hands of this government. Is there even one honest politician here?
The entitled families must be very proud of what they have created here. Pretty soon, it will be like it was pre-1917. The have’s have it all.
Beware my people, this is just the beginning, I’m afraid, of a great many more gun-related incidents.
Where is the federal government in all of this. Oh, I forgot. We have a liaison to the White House. A mouse with no voice, representing a government with no brains, and virtually complete corruption and malfeasance.
I totally agree with you. The great St. Thomas can never have anything bad happen even though they have more murders and gun violence than the big island! The PR campaign by the government is working hard.