A St. Croix man succumbed to his injuries after being shot on St Croix Sunday, the Virgin Islands Police Department report.
ShotSpotter received notifications of shots fired in Mutual Homes. While dispatching units to Mutual Homes, 911 Emergency Call Center received a report from a woman who reported her brother was shot and appeared to be dead, according to the police report.
When VIPD arrived on the scene, they observed the lifeless body of a Black man who was later identified by his next of kin as 24-year-old Jamari Gardener.
Gardener appeared to have been shot multiple times about his body and succumbed to his injuries. EMS was present and checked for signs of life and found none, the police report stated.
A canvass of the area was made in an attempt to locate possible witnesses with negative results. However, numerous shell casings were located on the ground. The scene was processed by Forensic Unit personnel, police said.
Gardener’s death marks St. Croix’s ninth homicide of the year and brings the territory’s total to 18 since the start of 2023, according to the Source Homicide List.*
This matter is still under investigation. Anyone with information, please call 911, CIB Tip Line at (340) 778-4850 or Crime Stoppers V.I. at 1(800) 222-TIPS.
*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.
