A 17-year-old was shot and killed early Sunday morning near the Grandview Apartments housing community on St. Thomas, the Virgin Islands Police Department announced.
According to police, the ShotSpotter Detection System alerted the 911 Emergency Call Center to multiple gunshots fired in the area at approximately 2:39 a.m. Officers arrived to find one male with gunshot wounds. An emergency medical technician found no signs of life.
The victim was identified as Kareem L. Pinney.
Pinney is the territory’s 33rd homicide victim in 2024, according to the Source Homicide List*. St. Thomas has recorded 20 homicides year to date, St. Croix 13, and St. John none.
Including Sunday’s shooting, nine people were killed in the last 30 days alone.
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Stalin N. Flores-Gomez, 23, died from multiple gunshot wounds after police found him unresponsive Oct. 7 at Mandahl Bay Beach on St. Thomas.
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An unidentified man was shot and killed on Oct. 13 and found on Kronprindsens Gade on St. Thomas. Police issued a wanted notice on Saturday for Demare Andrew Encarnacion, 32, in connection with the killing.
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Venquon N. Richardson, 26, was shot and killed on Oct. 19 at a Bovoni gas station on St. Thomas.
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Walton “Selah” Macedon, 67, succumbed to apparent gunshot wounds after police responded to reports of gunshots on Oct. 20 in the Golden Rock area on St. Croix.
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Franklin Thomas Archibald Jr., 20, died on Oct. 22 after he was shot in Hospital Ground on St. Thomas.
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Quanza Heath, 35, died after he was shot on Oct. 23 in the Lorraine Village area on St. Croix. A suspect was taken into custody later that day.
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Errol Stephen St. Jean, 19, was shot and killed on Oct. 25 at the Walter I. M. Hodge Pavilion housing community on St. Croix.
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Hasani Parris, 27, was shot and killed on Oct. 30 in Hospital Ground on St. Thomas.
The spike in gun deaths prompted V.I. Police Department leadership to post a video on Saturday in which they decried the violence and urged the public to come forward with information about the recent killings.
“The only individuals that can work with us is the community,” said Capt. Sandra Colbourne, chief of detectives. “We’re asking for any information that can bring to the capture of the suspect or suspects in these matters.”
Chief Steven Phillip, who oversees the St. Thomas-St. John district said officers will be on the streets conducting routine traffic stops.
“We have to take away the opportunity from these criminals,” he said. “These type of violent crime is destroying our economy . . . people are walking in fear, and we shouldn’t be walking in fear.”
Acting Commissioner Mario Brooks then addressed the criminals themselves, referring to them as “clowns” and “cowards” and calling on them to own up to their actions.
“The gloves are off,” he said. “The officers have 100 percent support from me to go out there and do what they have to do.”
*The Source Homicide List is a chronological log of the homicides recorded in 2024 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.
