A man was listed in critical condition at the Schneider Regional Medical Center as of 5 p.m. Saturday after a shooting early in the morning in the area of the Bayside Mini Mart in Cruz Bay, the V.I. Police Department reported. A suspect turned himself in to police and was arrested about nine hours later.
According to police, at about 2:09 a.m. Saturday police were notified of a gunshot victim on the ground in the area of the Bayside Mini Mart. Officers spoke to a witness at the scene who said the victim was in a verbal dispute with an unknown individual. The witness said the victim shouted to her to move out the way and suddenly fell to the ground. The witness noticed that the man was bleeding profusely.
The witness said she did not know who may have fired gunshots at the victim.
The victim, whose name was not released by police, was transported to the Myrah Keating Clinic in Cruz Bay for treatment, then transported to St. Thomas where he was taken by ambulance to SRMC for additional treatment. The victim sustained gunshot wounds about the body and is in critical condition, police said in a Saturday afternoon news release.
At 11:03 a.m., Lawrence Powell Jr., age 30 of Grunwald, turned himself into police after learning that he was wanted for the assault. Powell admitted to shooting the victim and was subsequently arrested and charged with first-degree assault. Powell was unable to post the $75,000 bail and was remanded to the Bureau of Corrections pending his advice of rights hearing.
Police urged anyone with information about the incident to contact the Criminal Investigation Bureau at 340-774-2211 ext. 5579, the 911 call center or the anonymous tip service, Crime Stoppers USVI, at 1-800-222-8477.
