Homicides Continue to Rise on St. Thomas as Man, 68, Shot and Killed

A man was shot and killed Friday afternoon on St. Thomas, bringing the island’s homicide toll to seven for 2023, the V.I. Police Department reported.

Shots fired in Upper Hospital Ground were reported around 1:47 p.m. to the 911 Call Center. Information was also received that a man was being transported to Schneider Regional Medical Center, according to the police report.

The man was transported via private vehicle and appeared to have suffered at least one gunshot wound to the upper body, it said. Lifesaving efforts were performed at the hospital Emergency Room; however, he succumbed to his injures, the police report stated.

Next of kin identified the victim as 68-year-old Keith A. Jennings of Agnes Fancy, it said.

Shortly after the shots were reported, Richardson Dangleben Jr. contacted 911 and reported that he had shot Jennings, the report stated. It did not list his age or area where he lives.

Dangleben was subsequently arrested and charged with the shooting death of  Jennings, police said.

His death marks the seventh homicide on St. Thomas and the eighth for the territory, according to the 2023 Source Homicide List*.

Anyone having any information about this incident, please contact the Virgin Islands Police Department at (340-774-2211) or the Criminal Investigation Unit’s Major Crimes Division at 340-642-8449. You can also contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

*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.