“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” – Matthew 5:4
This is the verse Charlotte Amalie High School chose to honor and mourn the life of Tre’Vante Etienne. Fifteen years old. A son. A brother. A friend. A Virgin Islands child with a future that should still be ahead of him.
Rodney and I are heartbroken for Tre’Vante’s parents, loved ones, classmates, teachers, and everyone carrying unimaginable grief today. There are no words that make this easier. But there is one thing I know. This is not normal. And we cannot allow ourselves to treat it as normal.
When I heard the news of Tre’Vante’s murder, it brought back feelings I know too well. Today marks three years since my nephew lost his life to senseless violence. Years earlier, gun violence claimed the lives of my cousin and my uncle, a police officer. I know the horror of receiving that phone call. I know what it means for a family’s life to split into “before” and “after.”
Rodney and I both grew up in neighborhoods where too many young people were exposed to violence early. We both raised sons in the Virgin Islands. We both know what it feels like to pray your children make it home safely. And like so many parents and grandparents across these islands, I have asked myself over and over: How many losses will it take before we decide enough is enough?
This moment calls us to do more than grieve. It calls for action.
According to KIDS COUNT USVI, homicide was the leading cause of death among young people ages 16–24 in 2023, accounting for 61% of deaths in that age group. On the mainland, homicide was the third leading cause of death for that same age group at 13.8%.
This is more than a problem in the Virgin Islands, it is a crisis. And crises like this demand more than isolated solutions. They require us to be strategic. That is why public safety must be bigger than policing and rooted in a comprehensive approach built on three commitments.
First, prevention and early intervention. Our children deserve safe places to belong, year-round opportunities to grow, and strong support systems that help them reach their full potential. That means reopening community centers across the territory and activating year-round youth programs, mentorship, career training, and internships, and increasing access to mental and behavioral health support within our schools. That also means re-launching VIVIS, the Virgin Islands Virtual Integrated System, a data-informed student support system designed to help schools identify academic, behavioral, and emotional needs earlier and connect students to resources faster.
Second, protection and accountability. Our children deserve communities that are safe and adults who act when harm is done. This means building a territory-wide proactive crime prevention strategy. It also means equipping law enforcement with smarter, data-driven tools like real-time crime tracking, ensuring those who inflict harm are quickly identified and face swift accountability.
Third, rehabilitation. Our children deserve to grow up in communities that break cycles of violence instead of repeating them. That means expanding workforce training and educational opportunities in our correctional system, strengthening rehabilitation and mental health services for adults, and creating real pathways for successful reentry so fewer families experience loss again.
In order to protect our children, we must do all three.
No child should grow up believing violence is normal, feeling forgotten, or wondering whether they will make it home. They deserve a community where every adult understands that every child belongs to all of us. Where we intervene, mentor, and speak up.
Today, there is a family grieving. There is an empty seat. There are classmates trying to understand something no child should have to understand. We owe Tre’Vante more than our sadness. We owe him action.
We have work to do.
