ST. CROIX — Residents of Colquhoun (Mount Pleasant) were twice shaken by loud explosions coming from the Virgin Islands National Guard base located across the neighborhood in Estate Bethlehem, disorienting animals, the elderly and sending widespread panic through that community.
A resident of Colguhoun, Johanna Bermudez-Ruiz, described the explosions to The Consortium as sounding like bombs weighing 200 to 500 pounds. She said residents frantically called 911 seeking information and guidance, and were informed that V.I.N.G. was conducting an exercise.
“They could not tell us when it would stop, how many days V.I.N.G. would continue to practice bomb-like explosions, and what was being practiced that sounded like 200 to 500 pound bomb,” Mrs. Bermudez-Ruiz said. She added that senators Nereida Rivera-O’Reilly and Sammuel Sanes were contacted at the time and were surprised to learn of the exercise through complaints.
Members of the 23rd Civil Support Team, Virgin Islands National Guard along with local and federal agencies attended a two-day FBI training on weapons of mass destruction and incendiary devices July 13 through July 14.
The Consortium visited V.I.N.G.’s base for clarification, and spoke with Karen Williams, the organization’s state public affairs. She confirmed that an exercise — which included a lecture and field demonstrations — was indeed conducted on Wednesday and Thursday, which involved the Federal Investigations Bureau training local responders on matters of terrorism in a two-day workshop that spanned.
The exercise included local response agencies, chemical industry stakeholders and V.I.N.G.’s 23rd Civil Support Team, according to a press release handed to this publication today, which it did not receive prior.
The release says the exercise would generate noise in and around the vicinity of the Bethlehem military facility, but apparently the word did not get out fast enough. Ms. Williams said V.I.N.G. managed to relay the information to some news outlets, including News Channel 2 and a radio station.
It’s a lapse that could have caused great harm to some neighboring residents, Mrs. Bermudez-Ruiz said, especially the elderly, many of whom suffer with heart problems.
“During the bombing type of explosions, neighbors came out of their homes scared, confused and concerned that [a] bombing terrorist attack was happening,” she said. “Dogs and [other] animals were disoriented and deranged at every bombing-like sound. The noise rattled senior citizens with health issues [and] caused people’s pressure to climb.
“Our houses shocked and vibrated with each explosion, which could have led to our houses cracking and moving from their foundation,” she said.
Ms. Williams said the explosions did not come from real explosives, but rather variants used by those involved in acts of terrorism.
“We felt as though an utter infringement of our rights to peace and tranquility was trampled on by V.I.N.G.’s actions to practice explosions without notice and consideration with proximity of our homes to their facility,” Mrs. Bermudez Ruiz went on. “After all, we are less then a 1/2 a mile from V.I.N.G. and what they did was very terrifying. We had no idea what was taking place, and they are too close for us to experience these frightful, terrorizing, and intrusive explosions.”
According to the F.B.I., the training allowed U.S.V.I. response entities to acquire knowledge on dangerous chemicals used in improvised explosive devices, and practice counter measures to defeat those devices.
However, Mrs. Bermudez argued that if V.I.N.G. wants to conduct such experiments, “then perhaps it shouldn’t be done in our backyard, and perhaps they may not be aware that they are literally our neighbors, not just a member of the community.”
Feature Image: Members of the 23rd Civil Support Team, Virgin Islands National Guard along with local and federal agencies attended a two-day FBI training on weapons of mass destruction and incendiary devices July 13 through July 14. (Credit: V.I.N.G.)
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