Gittens Outraged Over ‘Senseless Killing’ Of Goverment Worker In Alleged Botched Robbery Attempt

ST. CROIX — A St. Croix Senator said that he was “outraged and deeply saddened” over the “senseless killing” of a 55-year-old man who was murdered near Sunny Isle Saturday morning and called on law enforcement and government officials to band together to stem a perceived rising tide of violence in the territory.

Terrance Moorehead, a resident of Pepper Tree Terrace who worked for the Department of Property and Procurement became the fifth homicide victim on St. Croix, the thirteenth overall for the territory when he was shot to death behind the Super Tanker Gas Station in Estate Diamond.

Senator Kenneth “Kenny” Gittens

“When I got over the initial shock of such a senseless act of gun-violence and the disbelief that a dear friend had been fatally shot in what appears to be a botched robbery, my mind began racing, wondering if this is the straw that broke the camel’s back and will be what is needed to get the administration and law enforcement arms of our various departments to act in concert to present a unified presence against the criminal element in the community,” Sen. Kenneth L. Gittens said.

Gittens, who is vice-chairman of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security, Justice and Public Safety, said the government needs to act on a “joint law enforcement initiative” that he proposed because the crime wave sweeping through the islands is making “every-day citizens almost hostage in their homes.”

“We express outrage when our young people lose their lives in these ongoing feuds, but when I hear of a hard-working citizen gunned down on the streets, because someone else desired to deprive another of their valuables, it is clear to me that we have to stop and say: ‘Enough is enough,’” Gittens said.

Police were dispatched to the service station about 2:11 a.m. Saturday in response to a 911 call of a man being shot and needing medical assistance. Moorehead was only able to say that he had been shot behind the Super Tanker Gas Station. He was transported by ambulance to the Juan F. Luis Hospital and later died of the injuries he sustained.