When does the violence stop?

I am not sure how this would help anyone.

It wouldn't, not by any stretch. The OP may be either very new to St Croix or very unfamiliar with travel forums dedicated to the island - or both. The subject of crime on STX is consistently raised on travel forums and is immediately countered by longtime repeat visitors who are quick to assure that in all the years they've enjoyed the island they've never encountered or been affected by crime.

Crime exists throughout the territory and before someone jumps in to chastise me for apparently singling out STX, I did so since the OP seems to be doing so. The truth of the matter is that it's very rarely that crime in the territory affects visitors. The primary cause of murder here is domestic abuse and gang related retaliation.

OP, if you have something constructive to offer then do as poster East Ender suggests in the second paragraph.

The guy who was shot in the red Honda near central high (see vi consortium for that story is a criminal with a long history. Google Wayne DMX woodrup. Now the taxpayers are most likely paying for his care as he fights for his life in the hospital.

The guy who was shot in the red Honda near central high (see vi consortium for that story is a criminal with a long history. Google Wayne DMX woodrup. Now the taxpayers are most likely paying for his care as he fights for his life in the hospital.

The taxpayers are also supporting his criminal enterprise. There would be no drug wars here if there was no demand for drugs, hence the suppliers. Many people benefit from this criminal enterprise, such as friends, relatives, girlfriends, etc...so they are reluctant to turn in the enterprising businessman who blatantly advertises his gang affiliation with his tricked-out RED car with the RED rims.

How many businesses on STX have closed due to lack of customers? The drug business needs to close also due to lack of customers, but don't hold your breath...

The violence, unfortunately, is bound to continue until the sources bringing illegal weapons and drugs are identified and prosecuted to the fullest extent. This goes for the gangs and gang members.

The courts are a revolving door for criminals and need to step up the sentences and stop releasing criminals with a slap on the wrist.

It does no good when these thugs have governors, senators, commissioners and other highly paid public servants getting away with their crimes to be rewarded with the next cushy, high paying government position or a slap on the wrist as their punishment.

This is the new normal it seems.

Where's "crime stoppers" when we need them?
Ask Gov. Mapp when he returns from his overlong holiday.

Jah Rusty Ferrari I agree! When you research Dwayne you see the whole picture. Did you find the leagle.com US vs Henry? The case mentions the "Kennedy Real Killers" and HEnry was gunned down a few months ago at 2 plus 2. This thing goes deep.

The violence, unfortunately, is bound to continue until the sources bringing illegal weapons and drugs are identified and prosecuted to the fullest extent. This goes for the gangs and gang members.

The courts are a revolving door for criminals and need to step up the sentences and stop releasing criminals with a slap on the wrist.

It does no good when these thugs have governors, senators, commissioners and other highly paid public servants getting away with their crimes to be rewarded with the next cushy, high paying government position or a slap on the wrist as their punishment.

This is the new normal it seems.

Where's "crime stoppers" when we need them?
Ask Gov. Mapp when he returns from his overlong holiday.

Yes mandatory sentences are being overturned for drug convictions because guess what. The war on drugs is an abject failure that has cost trillions of dollars and almost eliminated an entire generation of brown people through death and incarceration. We already build prisons at at much higher rate than schools. The solution is obvious that drugs need to be legalized to end this.

Sure glad the USVI has some of the strictest gun laws in the country.

I'm sure the criminals are glad too!

In response to Old Tart, with the escalating level of gang violence it seems that anyone either local or visitor could be at risk of getting hit in the crossfire.

More guns does not equal less violence just like less guns equals less violence.. Oh wait it does everywhere else in the world

In response to Old Tart, with the escalating level of gang violence it seems that anyone either local or visitor could be at risk of getting hit in the crossfire.

People have already been killed in the crossfire like the young Puerto Rican girl, for instance, visiting on a cruise ship with her family. She was killed at Coki Point Beach in broad daylight while sitting in a taxi van during a shootout rival members of a gang had during a funeral held there.

http://m.virginislandsdailynews.com/news/tyson-guilty-of-double-murder-at-coki-point-beach-1.1135090

It's amazing more innocent bystanders aren't killed or harmed.

Today - (NC) Charlotte police officers are being called back in from days off and vacations after five people have been killed and five others hurt in shootings during a violent Labor Day holiday weekend in North Carolina's largest city. The dead include a 7-year-old boy killed during a birthday party.

Today - WASHINGTON (WUSA9) -- There were four separate shootings early Sunday in the District. One man died as a result of his injuries sustained in one of those shootings, bringing the District's homicide total to 107 for the year -- surpassing the total number of homicides in the city in 2014 and shattering a week-long hiatus in such killings.

The guy who was shot in the red Honda near central high (see vi consortium for that story is a criminal with a long history. Google Wayne DMX woodrup. Now the taxpayers are most likely paying for his care as he fights for his life in the hospital.

The taxpayers are also supporting his criminal enterprise. There would be no drug wars here if there was no demand for drugs, hence the suppliers. Many people benefit from this criminal enterprise, such as friends, relatives, girlfriends, etc...so they are reluctant to turn in the enterprising businessman who blatantly advertises his gang affiliation with his tricked-out RED car with the RED rims.

How many businesses on STX have closed due to lack of customers? The drug business needs to close also due to lack of customers, but don't hold your breath...

I thought you were from St. Croix? While I concede these guys with the choppers do sell drugs and their criminal enterprise is funded by the drug trade, the problem is not drugs. It is an East vs. West turf war. It's been going on for quite some time but has escalated to new levels. Roy was shot and killed a few months ago and things have heated up since then. Drugs are not the problem in the recent shootings. These guys are fighting over something intangible. They are trying to settle the score. We need Feds, Marshalls, National Guard etc.

The night of the Red Brick shooting could have easily resulted in the apprehension of the perpetrators. How? Well lets see, I heard the gunshots about 1000 yards away from me. A cop across the street also heard them. The shooting lasted almost 5 minutes. Right then, the police should have set up island wide checkpoints. These guys were in a vehicle and had to go somewhere after spraying their bullets. Someone in Red Brick should have been able to identify what kind of vehicle they were in.

There should be island wide checkpoints all day everyday until the thugs get the point. EVERYONE gets searched and sniffed with the dogs. National Guard should be cruising the island with their machine guns and big hummers they are always playing with. They should have a permanent station in Sunny Isle, various banks, etc. They should set up checkpoints in and out of the housing projects too. Heck, bring in some national guard people from the states if that's what it takes. That is what they should be used for, protecting our nation and helping with domestic problems.

We have the resources right here on island to get a handle on this thing but alas, the leaders are too busy relaxing in their easy chairs. Maybe they want the thugs to kill each other off. So what if a few bystanders get shot in the process.

Matt you are right all thos things need to be done.

Carl thanks for the news about crime elsewhere but I do not live in North Carolina or Washington DC, I live on st croix.

Alana yes that poor girl was caught in the gang crossfire on st Thomas. Nowhere is safe anymore.

If you look at the homicide statistics for 2015 http://stthomassource.com/content/news/police/2015/07/31/homicides-2015, it would appear on the face of it that the majority is gang related with domestic violence coming in a distant second. I would really like to see follow up on some of these "20 year old male found with gunshot wound" stories. The young lady who was caught in the crossfire was a tragic anomaly.

I also bet not a single gun involved in any of these shootings was legal.

Carl's implied point is ludicrous. Somebody probably got their head chopped off in Syria today, or eaten by dogs in North Korea. A meth lab explosion in Appalachia probably killed 5 people. That does not--cannot--justify the fact that 100 rounds were let off in a housing environment where kids were playing outside.

It is only a matter of time before there is another "Coki Point" shootout where a precious innocent bystander is killed. We cannot wait for that moment. We must show strength. Unfortunately, Mapp, the leader of the territory, is dancing in his bikini in the NYC parade while sleeping in a 5 star hotel in Battery Park with his 5+ person entourage.

What's next, flying to Cancun during Spring Break to "promote" the territory? Seems like a darn party to me. Why has he not been recalled yet? This would not fly anywhere else. U.S. Rep. Mia Love recently agreed to pay back funds used for her travel to the White House Correspondents Dinner. U.S. House rules prevent the use of funds for travel to primarily "social events." There is no more obvious example of a primarily social event than the NYC labor day parade. He's using our moneys to live in a resort and travel to parties. The funny thing is that we don't even need specific rules on this to stop him. These are flagrantly illegal transactions under a bevy of statutes, including the honest services statutes and local embezzlement laws. You don't need something immovable (like a gate) to show private enrichment. Leasing a mansion is private enrichment. Flying to your favorite parties with a thin veil of a public purpose is private enrichment. Renting a Lamborghini or yacht equals private enrichment. An Atty Gen who is not beholden to the Governor would have blocked these expenditures a long time ago.

My point is that it is hard for the young people of the territory to respect the rule of law with such structural anomalies and blatant corruption in place. We, in some ways, are the "Alvin Williams" generation. We grew up seeing senators, governors, policemen, and even teachers stealing. We have been failed by a broken society, and are now operating as a mirror of sorts--reminding the general population of what they have created.

If you read US vs Henry on leagle.com you have to wonder where Pogson and Felix are now and also whether there will be another hospital shooting with Woodrup in the hospital...like the same dudes who shot Henry.

Too bad they can't round up the gangs, put them in the stadium, give them their weapons and say, "Have at it!"

Survivors get jailed for life and perhaps the families of these " good young men" who don't make it could get a group discount on funeral expenses.

Wrong answer:

"Somebody probably got their head chopped off in Syria today, or eaten by dogs in North Korea. A meth lab explosion in Appalachia probably killed 5 people.. . . . Unfortunately, Mapp, the leader of the territory, is dancing in his bikini in the NYC parade while sleeping in a 5 star hotel in Battery Park with his 5+ person entourage."

[Wrong because the people killed in Syria and North Korea were not killed by a sprayed, drive-by by a bunch of repeat-offender gang thugs with guns killing poor people who are physically stuck with them -- which is identical to what happened today in DC and Baltimore and Charlotte].

Right answer:

"If you look at the homicide statistics for 2015 [stthomassource.com], it would appear on the face of it that the majority is gang related with domestic violence coming in a distant second. I would really like to see follow up on some of these "20 year old male found with gunshot wound" stories. The young lady who was caught in the crossfire was a tragic anomaly."

This dirty little secret is called the "110th St Rule" in New York. Do not commit gang violence below 110th street in Manhattan or you will accidentally kill a rich dude and all shit will fall on you."

So you rail on against our current VI government as though it were unique, against the police, against everything in the government: This person is corrupt....that one is a fraud....these people are incompetent.....So I guess the fact that the mayors of Baltimore and DC (both smart, well-educated and conscientious young black women who have been long-term pillars of their communities) have the identical problems of escalating poor-on-poor-gun/gang violence are irrelevant. Well it is unique in one sense so let's think about that.......Though you are probably correct: The fact that such violence directly tracks poverty levels, not political administrations is irrelevant. Or that 99% of the victims are the perpetrators. Okey-dokey...you are right.....everything is Mapp's fault or the current AG's fault or the stupid VI police or the stupid VI residents or the stupid VI PD's and stupid VI AG's or the stupid VI social workers or the stupid VI political system which is so unusual and corrupt.....I see that now. Mapp should not go out and try to raise money or awareness--if he were here these shootings would have magically not happened. Everything bad coincidentally serves your political points. But remind me.....what is the poorest jurisdiction in the entire US? Have you ever seen that number corrected for EDC and non-resident snowbirds? And by how much? What was the VI called pre-1930 before they opened the rum distillery to save it from the most desperate poverty in the US?

I have a friend who says that on the mainland every time there is a problem in the world Republicans say that it can be fixed by doing away with the capital gains tax on rich people. I guess that here, your consistent answer is that Virgin Islanders simply should not be allowed to govern themselves.

"I guess that here, your consistent answer is that Virgin Islanders simply should not be allowed to govern themselves."

By golly! You might be on to something here!

Yeah....that worked out so well before. The US bought the VI in 1917 and then (contrary to what the Virgin Islanders had been told) did not give them full citizenship. The Navy then the federal government ran the islands for a number of years. They did such a great job that:

"By 1931 the Virgin Islands had degenerated to the point where they
could be referred to as the 'effective poorhouse' of the United States, a
charge which was made by President Herbert Hoover after a visit to the
islands in March, 1931."

A History of the Virgin Islands of the United States, Isaac Dookhan, at 271.

By the way -- I'm NOT suggesting that some of the immediate solutions suggested should not be applied such as a very strong tactical response -- just that trying to turn EVERYTHING into a political squabble to back one side or the other by ignoring the facts is a whole different issue and does not really solve anything. In other words...what are the real facts instead of the constant, partisan rhetoric ?

"I guess that here, your consistent answer is that Virgin Islanders simply should not be allowed to govern themselves."

By golly! You might be on to something here!

Could you imagine if the feds took over and implemented the federal government's merit-based hiring system in the VI? A government chock full of our young VI Ivy League educated engineers, accountants, and policy experts (bye bye Hugo Hodge!!!)? A government that doesn't run of cronyism, where the sons and daughters of the politically-connected don't automatically get jobs? Where there are checks upon checks against fraud, with independent inspectors general in each department?

Could you imagine if they took over the judicial system and we inherited a prosecutors' office with a 99% conviction rate (US DOJ numbers)? A highly trained federal police force with FBI-level technology? What a dream! The feds here have done an impeccable job where they have been allowed to take reign. Alvin Williams can attest to that. Many of the most vile members of our society can attest as well. Honest Virgin Islanders know that our law enforcement interests would be better served under a completely federalized system. At least until we reduce crime significantly. Then we could return control to local hands. Maybe. It is better (in my opinion) to live under complete federal control than to live under the tyranny of a local person. I say this as a native.

I won't respond to Carl "Strawman" Hartmann's rant this time, as he set up (and subsequently tore down) a bunch of arguments I never made. Of course Mapp's absence didn't cause the violence. But the connection between governmental malfeasance and the sense of hopelessness that leads to violence here in the community is obvious. At least it is obvious to me, someone who knows many of the young people who are murdered and believes that their lives matter too. Indeed, all lives matter, including theirs. Dismissing the gravity of the problem as an "it's their issue" problem is offensive.

All of this has been going on here for decades.
It's really nothing new. SOS, different players and the downward spiral continues.

It's disheartening to consider that it will continue for decades more.

The guy who was shot in the red Honda near central high (see vi consortium for that story is a criminal with a long history. Google Wayne DMX woodrup. Now the taxpayers are most likely paying for his care as he fights for his life in the hospital.

Yep. We just paid for him to get a free flight to an off island hospital today.

Cruzaniron, yes I figured as much. actually further research on woodrup showed that this is the second time taxpayers have paid for his medical care at the hospital, following an altercation in the prison when he stabbed another inmate and got injured at the same time. I would like to know the percentage of uncompensated medical care given to criminals at Juan Luis hospital.

Cruzaniron, yes I figured as much. actually further research on woodrup showed that this is the second time taxpayers have paid for his medical care at the hospital, following an altercation in the prison when he stabbed another inmate and got injured at the same time. I would like to know the percentage of uncompensated medical care given to criminals at Juan Luis hospital.

Are suggesting that prisoners not get medical care? Heaven forbid. I mean they have it so good in comparison to people with lives of freedom and privilege.