ST. CROIX — Acting Governor Osbert Potter moved yesterday to lift the territory-wide state of emergency he declared on Saturday following a violent weekend on this island, as the gunfights that plagued neighborhoods from east to west have seemingly subsided, a press release Government House issued late Wednesday has made known.
Potter also ordered the territory’s peace officers, deputized over the weekend to aid the VIPD in its effort to combat the violence, to resume their normal functions with their respective agencies.
What has been described by Potter as the “wild wild west” began after the homicide death of Jermaine “Bird” Williams last Friday afternoon, which was followed by “hundreds of shots” being fired back-and-forth in the Red Brick/Water Gut area, according to Sen. Novelle Francis, a former police chief and police commissioner. Multiple victims were injured during the gunfight, as ambulances rushed in and out of the close neighborhoods.
That same day at about 10:00 p.m., an attempted robbery at Napoleon’s Pizza in Peter’s Rest, across from Cost-U-Less ended with shots being fired by both sides — the store’s owner and the suspects — and almost immediately following the incident, police responded to shots being fired in Campo Rico and Mon Bijou.
On Saturday, Dwayne “DMX” Woodrup was shot multiple times on Centerline Road near the Central High School, leaving the red Honda Civic he was driving riddled with bullet holes and Woodrup, who was airlifted out of the territory on Saturday night, in critical condition and “clinging to life,” according to VIPD Public Information Officer Kevin Jackson.
Following that incident, police responded to shots being fired in La Grande Princesse and Campo Rico, capping off a violent weekend here.
Governor Kenneth Mapp has been out of the territory since last week, however, he’s expected to return from his New York trip today, where he marched as the grand marshal in the West Indian Parade and appeared on Fox News New York, along with Tourism Commissioner Beverly Nicholson-Doty and VI superstar Pressure.
Feature Image: Police officers last Saturday at a crime scene on Centerline Road, near Central High School doing investigations.
Tags: state of emergency lifted, us virgin islands, usvi
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