Two men were killed and two other people were injured in a shooting early Sunday morning at Luna Bar in Peter’s Rest on St. Croix, the Virgin Islands Police Department reported.
Police said the 911 Emergency Call Center received reports of a shooting with possible gunshot victims at approximately 3:45 a.m. Sunday.
According to a VIPD police report, a preliminary investigation found that a verbal altercation led to the shooting. The incident left 31-year-old Wahili James and 34-year-old Samuel Rivera dead. Both men were identified by family members.
Two other victims, a minor and a 30-year-old man, sustained gunshot wounds and were reported to be in stable condition, police said.
James and Rivera’s deaths mark the eighth and ninth homicides on St. Croix and the 15th and 16th for the territory, according to the Source Homicide List.*
The investigation remains active. The Criminal Investigation Bureau is asking anyone with information about the shooting to contact 911, the bureau at 340-778-2211, or Crime Stoppers USVI at 800-222-8477.
*The Source Homicide List is a chronological log of the homicides recorded in 2026 in the U.S. Virgin Islands, as reported by the VIPD. Cases are broken down by island. While this listing is based on VIPD reports, the Source does not include suicides or vehicular homicides in its listing, which the police and some other media do. This can lead to a discrepancy in the number of incidents reported.
