A man who was stabbed by another man on St. Croix Friday drew his licensed firearm in alleged self-defense, which ended in a homicide, the V.I. Police Department reported.
At approximately 10:22 p.m., units were notified to travel to Sunny Acres about Shot Spotters reports on shots fired. The 911 dispatcher also relayed that they received reports of a shooting victim being transported to the hospital by private vehicle. A few moments later, it was reported that a second gunshot victim ran into someone’s yard seeking assistance and he was subsequently transported to the hospital by ambulance, according to the police report.
Detectives traveled to the Juan F. Luis Hospital and spoke with a man who stated that while he visited a female friend in Estate Strawberry, her child’s father unexpectedly showed up at the house. Eventually, the female and her child’s father were engaged in an argument, which resulted in the child’s father running to the driver’s side of the victim’s vehicle, at which point he opened the door and stabbed the man in the vehicle multiple times with a knife. The victim stated that he then drew his licensed firearm and discharged shots to get the man to stop stabbing him, the police report stated.
The victim, who sustained multiple stab wounds to his hands, torso, and head, was
treated and released, the report stated.
The gunshot victim was identified as 21-year-old Kjani Skeet, who succumbed to his
injuries, police say.
Skeet’s death marks the 17th homicide on St. Croix this year and the 36th for the territory, according to the Source Homicide List.* 19 people have been killed on St. Thomas.
*The Source Homicide List is a chronological log of the homicides recorded in 2023 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.
