Sept. 15, 2006 – Police are investigating an early Friday morning shooting that left a 26-year-old man injured and a vehicle owned by the Water and Power Authority damaged after it apparently was caught in the crossfire.
The victim, whose identity police are withholding, was rushed to Luis Hospital where he underwent emergency surgery. Police spokeswoman Shawna Richards said the victim was in "serious condition" as of Friday evening.
Richards and Cassandra Dunn, spokeswoman for WAPA, expressed gratitude that there were no other injuries during the shooting that police said occurred about 3 a.m. Friday in downtown Christiansted.
Dunn said that the WAPA linemen were working in the area and were out of the vehicle at the time of the shooting. The men returned to find several bullet holes in the vehicle and some of its windows completely shattered, she said.
"I counted them. There were 12 bullet holes. It was a very close call," Dunn said.
Richards said that according to police reports, officers were patrolling the Christiansted area when they heard shots being fired in the vicinity of Company Street.
"Police were directed by concerned citizens to the nightclub known as De Playground where they discovered a black male lying in the street, the victim of multiple gunshot wounds," Richards said.
Eyewitnesses told police that the shots may have come from the second floor of the nightclub.
Three vehicles, including the WAPA truck, were damaged in the hail of gunfire, according to police.
Dunn said that WAPA linemen work in shifts 24-hours a day to take care of problems that may occur overnight. At the time, they had been responding to power outages resulting from Thursday night's storm.
The linemen "were a bit shaken at first when they saw the vehicle but they felt obligated to finish their shift and came back to the plant, got another truck and finished their work."
Dunn said that one bullet hit the seat on driver's side and that there were "three to four bullet holes in the cab and the back window was completely shot out. There were bullets in the doors and the body of the truck."
One bullet also struck the cable for the bucket on the truck that the men use to hoist them up to poles, Dunn said.
Police are asking anyone with information on Friday morning's shooting to contact the 911 or the Criminal Investigation Bureau's hotline at 778-4950.
Information provided to police will remain confidential, Richards said.
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