ST. CROIX — What police say appeared to be a gunbattle on Thursday night between multiple individuals in the Golden Rock Shopping Center, near Domino’s Pizza and St. Croix Nails, ended with a 26-year-old losing his life.
According to V.I.P.D. Public Information Officer Glen Dratte, a call about the shootout came in to the 911 emergency call center at about 6:45 p.m., and officers were immediately dispatched to the area.
Upon arrival, the officers met the victim lying on the floor in the doorway of St. Croix Nails. Also on the floor were boxes of Domino’s Pizza, suggesting that the individuals might have visited the pizza restaurant before the shootout started.
The victim was identified as Jelani Pitman, whose moniker is “Banana Man”, according to Mr. Dratte. Mr. Pitman sustained multiple shots about his body.
Mr. Dratte said that based on the V.I.P.D.’s preliminary investigation, the incident appeared to be a shootout with multiple individuals.
The victim was pronounced dead at the Juan F. Luis Hospital.
Police officers were still on the crime scene investigating the homicide after the 7:00 p.m. hour. A number of different units could be seen scouring the area for evidence, and placing markers on the ground to number the shell casings. The highest marker a Consortium reporter saw was 25 — although there may have been more — which supports the V.I.P.D.’s preliminary report of a shootout.
Police say two to three suspects fled the scene in a white pickup truck.
Tonight’s homicide brings St. Croix’s total to three in six days. The first occurred on Saturday night in a Frederiksted bar, where a man was shot pointblank; the other occurred Wednesday night in Williams Delight, and the third is tonight’s incident.
Tags: crime scene, golden rock, homicide, st croix
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