Police Arrest Suspect In Lagoon Double Homicide

ST. CROIX — Police have detained a man suspected of being involved in Sunday night’s double homicide, Police Commissioner Delroy Richards confirmed to The Consortium this afternoon.

Following the incident that left two 18-year-olds dead at the Altona Lagoon, a car that sped out of the Lagoon subsequent to the shooting, crashed into a police cruiser after refusing to yield at a stop sign on King Street near the old Scotia Bank building, which is now occupied by a credit union, according to Mr. Richards.

The man, who was accompanied by a 16-year-old minor, exited the vehicle and pointed a gun at the police sergeant driving the cruiser. But before he could fire, the magazine fell off, Mr. Richards made known, so the suspect fled the area and left the minor sitting in the vehicle.

The 16-year-old was detained immediately. However, the suspect who fled the scene was apprehended later in the day by detectives, according to the commissioner.

“We currently have the suspect in custody and he’s now being questioned,” Mr. Richards said. Just on the grounds of wielding a firearm — whether legally or illegally — and pointing the weapon at a police officer is already an offense; giving the V.I.P.D. more than enough grounds to not only detain the suspect, but keep him in custody.

Mr. Richards did not release the suspect’s name as questioning was still ongoing, and it was not clear whether police had recovered the magazine. The commissioner said police would update the community on the investigation.

Back story

A deadly weekend in St. Croix that started with the homicide of Timothy Urgent in Clifton Hill Saturday night, ended with the unfortunate killing of two 18-year-old men at a birthday party that was held at the Altona Lagoon.

According to Mr. Richards, speaking to this publication this morning, police had just circled the area of the event, inquiring whether the organizers had a permit in their possession, and after learning that the Department of Sports, Parks and Recreation had issued a permit, the officers left the area.

Soon after, just about 11:00 p.m., the 911 emergency call center dispatched officers back to the Lagoon to respond to shots of gunfire. Upon arrival to the scene, police met two young men lying lifeless on the ground after sustaining multiple gunshots about their bodies.

An eyewitness told The Consortium that the gunman seemed to have seized an opportunity to slay the victims. He walked up to the first victim and shot him about three to four times and stepped back. Then, the first victim’s friend ran to help and the gunman came up again and shot the friend multiple times, leaving two young men lifeless in a pool of blood.

The barrage of gunshots left three others injured, according to Mr. Richards, all of whom were treated for their injuries at the Juan F. Luis Hospital and released. He said one of the homicide victims was a resident of La Grange, Frederiksted and the other from Estate Whim, Frederiksted.

Of the three individuals who were injured, one resides in the D. Hamilton Jackson Housing Community. Mr. Richards was not sure where the other two injured victims reside.

Police have yet to release the victims’ names, although multiple social media postings have outed their identity.