The scene of the shooting on Sunday March 5, 2017 in Estate Profit, St Croix, US Virgin Islands (USVI). Photo: VIC

Upon arrival to the scene, a Consortium reporter witnessed family and friends mourning the loss of the victim, identified as Hector Torez, a Hispanic male who resided in the Fredensborg housing community across from the Alfredo Andrews Elementary School in Kingshill, and was said to be in his mid-thirties. One child cried out, “My uncle is gone!” as she ran away from the scene.

The motive of the incident, as of Sunday night, was unknown. And police are asking residents with information that may lead to the arrest of suspected perpetrators to contact the Homicide Task Force at 340-778-2211, or Crime Stoppers USVI, here.

The homicide was the second this year for St. Croix, while St. Thomas has seen 10 homicides during the same period. The first incident here occurred during the night of January 31, when two men were shot near Lorraine Village, leaving one dead and the other injured, Police Commissioner Delroy Richards had confirmed to The Consortium the morning after the shooting.

Mr. Richards said that the V.I.P.D.’s ShotSpotter system had detected gunfire in the Lorraine Village area just after 7:00 p.m. that night. In tandem, a concerned resident was on the phone with the 911 emergency call center reporting that people were shot and one man was lying on the ground.

Police units rushed to the scene and discovered a male victim on the ground with multiple gunshot wounds about his body, according to Mr. Richards. That victim had a very low pulse at the time. Police then discovered a second individual who was on the phone with 911, and he, along with the victim lying on the ground, were transported to the Juan F. Luis Hospital.

The victim who sustained multiple gunshots about the body died before being transported to the hospital, V.I.P.D. Public Information Officer Glen Dratte confirmed.

He was identified by his mother as McDonald Samuel, 20, with no fixed address, according to Mr. Richards. “The [deceased victim] had quite a number of run-ins with the law before,” the commissioner said.

The second victim was treated for a gunshot injury in the hand and released.

“We know that there could be possible two suspects involved who fled the scene. So we are in fact canvasing the area as part of the investigation,” Mr. Richards said at the time.