Two persons were struck by gunfire Wednesday in what was described as a drive-by shooting in the Hospital Ground area near the Bryan's fish market.
The shooting occurred at 1 p.m. It is the second such shooting on St. Thomas this week.
One of the victims was transported by private vehicle to the hospital for treatment. His condition is not known. The second victim, who was found by police in the Jah Yard area, remained at the scene about 30 minutes after the shooting, awaiting treatment for injuries to the face and forearm.
Police received information from several witnesses. Some suggested that one of the two suspects drove away from the scene in a red sedan-styled vehicle, license number T-32738. Another report said a suspect was spotted near the Human Services complex. He was described as a black male who at the time was wearing an orange T-shirt and long blue jeans.
Persons with information are asked to call investigators at 774-4050 or emergency 911.
On Monday, a similar shooting claimed the life of Ellis Blyden Jr. of Lindbergh Bay. Blyden was using a pay phone in the Anna's Retreat area near the Hometown Convenience Store when he was gunned down. He died at the scene.
To date, police have not commented on the motive for the shooting or said whether any suspects have been brought in for questioning.

St. John administrator Julien Harley is out beating the bushes looking for candidates for two jobs available right now at the Motor Vehicles Bureau on the island.
The small bureau has openings for a temporary motor vehicles inspector and a clerk.
The subject of vacancies within the police and firefighter ranks came up at Monday's public hearing before the Senate Committee on Government Operations on St. Thomas. A police administrator told committee chair Gregory Bennerson that despite the territory-wide financial crunch, it was possible to add personnel on St. Thomas and St. John because of federal funding in place.
Motor Vehicles officials say they've been successful in filling a temporary position for inspector on St. Thomas but couldn't find even an applicant for the same job on St. John.
Harley said he started putting out feelers when he heard about both vacancies a couple of weeks ago. "What I've been doing is asking people to call me and send me their resumes, because I don't want them to send someone from St. Thomas when someone on St. John might need a job," he said.
Veteran inspector Ralph Powell remains on duty, Harley said, but a second inspector is kept on staff so that one will always be available during vacations, sick days and other leave periods. The clerk position became available when one bureau administrator transferred to a job with Territorial Court, he said.
Harley said the vacancies have had little effect on St. John operations because the bureau is so small and has so few demands compared to those on St. Thomas and St. Croix.

Gov. Charles Turnbull announced a host of nominations to various governmental boards Tuesday.
Zandra Messiah, director of administrative services for the V.I. National Guard, was nominated to the Public Employees Relations Board. If confirmed, Messiah will fill a vacant management position for a five-year term.
Turnbull submitted the name of Oliver David, acting director of gaming enforcement, for Senate confirmation. The position is within the Department of Justice. David is the first director of gaming enforcement, a two-year position. V.I. law then dictates that subsequent directors serve during the term of office of the governor.
The St. Croix Coastal Zone Management committee will see three new members – and the renomination of a fourth — who will serve two-year terms if confirmed by the Senate. Charles Farrell, a banker with the V.I. Community Bank, was renominated for another term.
St. Croix administrator Rupert Ross Jr. was nominated to replace John Beagles, whose term expired.
Retired V.I. National Guard officer Christian Christensen was nominated to replace Eric Schindler, whose term expired. Christensen is the husband of Delegate to Congress Donna Christian Christensen.
Asta O’Bryan James, a retired educator and former second vice president of the St. Croix Federation of Teachers, was nominated to fill a vacant spot on the St. Croix CZM committee.

The St. Thomas/St. John Chapter of the American Red Cross will conduct emergency shelter inspections on St. John on Friday, April 14. The purpose of the inspections is to determine what facilities have safety or health hazards that need to be corrected before the hurricane season.
Representatives of facilities wishing to be considered as possible shelter locations should contact Franke Hoheb or Don Johnson at 774-0375.

The same shabby building conditions and lack of personnel plaguing firefighters and police officers on St. Thomas are affecting their counterparts on St. Croix.
At the second installment of hearings on the state of emergency services in the territory on the Big Island Tuesday night, members of the Senate Government Operations Committee essentially heard a replay of woes from the night before on St. Thomas.
Police Commissioner Franz Christian told of the "deplorable conditions" workers in the department’s motor vehicles division face at police headquarters in Golden Grove. The cramped "temporary" trailers and lack of basic amenities have been used to house the division since Hurricane Hugo struck St. Croix in 1989 and were the impetus for several job actions last year.
"I thought it was bad in St. Thomas," said Sen. Donald "Ducks" Cole. "It’s worse here."
Additionally, the Patrick Sweeney Headquarters Building itself is in need of renovations. On the positive side, Christian said St. Croix will receive 20 new patrol vehicles shortly.
Raymond Kean, a 10-year police veteran now working as an investigator, denounced the budget shortfalls in the territory's entire criminal justice system, saying that cases taken to the Attorney General’s office are often dismissed because of a lack of staff there.
"When you’re a victim you can’t understand this," Kean said.
Although he didn’t say it outright, Kean suggested to senators that cuts should come from other places in the government – like the Legislature. He said being a cop is like working in a "concrete jungle" where snap decisions are made daily in order to deal with criminals armed with Uzis and AK-47s.
"I know I’m making more decisions than you and you and you," Kean said, pointing to senators at the hearing. "I don’t have 14 people to turn to."
He then assailed cuts that leave officers without proper equipment, including vehicles and bullets.
"In 10 years I've never had a bullet-proof vest," Kean said. "The department doesn’t give money for bullets. But I do buy mine and if I shoot someone then I’m liable. You’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t."
Fire Services Director Pedro Encarnacion said his department had 37 vacancies. Meanwhile, those on staff must deal with a severe lack of equipment, including boots, helmets and bunker coats, as well as stations with faulty wiring and plumbing and rodent infestations.
"The deplorable state of our facilities are in need of immediate attention," he said.
At the hearing, a host of businessmen from St. Croix trucking companies and 20 truckers blasted a police program aimed at insuring the road-worthiness of large vehicles. The Motor Carrier Program is federally funded and uses six officers, Christian said.
But the truckers said they were never given guidelines to help them comply with the program, therefore they are constantly being pulled over and cited by what one company owner called "bandits." Truckers said that when they are pulled over for lengthy amounts of time it affects their bottom lines.
"We’re being treated as criminals," said business owner Lloyd Daniels. "The energy spent on this could be spent on something else."
The truckers asked Christian to convene a meeting between police in the Road Carrier Program and business owners so that a clear interpretation of the laws can be made and complied with.

Given the basketball star's busy schedule, "it's not that easy getting to Tim Duncan" to work out details of his contract to advertise the Virgin Islands, said Tourism Commissioner-designee Rafael Jackson. "The problem here is that as soon as the NBA season closes, he goes right into training for the Olympics."
However, Lt. Gov. Gerard Luz James II and Assistant Tourism Commissioner Pam Richards will have a face-to-face Monday night with the hometown hero in San Antonio after the Spurs play Vancouver.
James will present him with a specially designed chess set as a gift from the Virgin Islands.
Last week Jackson was hoping to attend the event and meet with Duncan. His department and the government's public relations firm, Martin Public Relations, have been trying to work through Duncan's agent Mark Scott and St. Croix attorney Joel Holt to set up a meeting. But Tuesday Jackson said he will be in Washington, D.C. instead. (See related story). No one will be there from the government's advertising firm either so no talks about the nuts and bolts of the contract are expected.
But Amy Atkinson, Martin PR, will fly to San Antonio to film the presentation for distribution in the San Antonio area and to NBA national shows. She said she is hoping to get a chance to talk with Duncan about his ideas for promoting the territory.
The agreement between Duncan and the government was approved late in 1999. It grants him a 100 percent tax exemption for his company, T.D. Enterprises, for 15 years in exchange for making three advertisements per year to promote V.I. tourism. The government must work around Duncan's playing schedule.
V.I. officials have been trying for some time to make the presentation of the chess set. It was designed and crafted by Brian Bishop of Crucian Gold. Made of silver and gold, the pieces are shaped as sugar mills, mocko jumbies and other V.I. icons.

Tourism Commissioner Rafael Jackson will meet early next week with representatives of US Air and USA Vacations in an attempt to shore up air service to St. Croix.
Jackson said the meeting was at the request of the airline. He was hoping to meet with American Airlines officials too, but the head of the Caribbean region won't be available next week.
The intent is to find ways to increase traffic into the Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia gateways that serve St. Croix.
"If we can create the demand, we can keep them (the airlines) from thinking of cutting back" on flights to St. Croix, Jackson said.
He said the V.I. needs to concentrate promotion efforts on Virginia and the Carolinas and areas in Pennsylvania. He also wants to increase interest in flights leaving Miami and plans to consider advertising in Tampa and other Florida cities.
He stressed that the airlines have not said they will decrease flights into St. Croix, but said he wants to take a proactive approach to the issue.

Tourism Commissioner Rafael Jackson will meet early next week with representatives of US Air and USA Vacations in an attempt to shore up air service to St. Croix.
Jackson said the meeting was at the request of the airline. He was hoping to meet with American Airlines officials too, but the head of the Caribbean region won't be available next week.
The intent is to find ways to increase traffic into the Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia gateways that serve St. Croix.
"If we can create the demand, we can keep them (the airlines) from thinking of cutting back" on flights to St. Croix, Jackson said.
The V.I. needs to concentrate promotion efforts on Virginia, the Carolinas and areas in Pennsylvania, he said. He also wants to increase interest in flights leaving Miami and will consider advertising in Tampa and other Florida cities.
He stressed that the airlines have not said they will decrease flights into St. Croix, but said he wants to take a proactive approach to the issue.

An incident at St. Croix’s Cormorant Beach Club and Resort on Sunday -– reportedly fueled by physical violence and racial slurs -– has the resort’s president calling for a federal inquiry into civil rights violations and contemplating closing the property in La Grande Princesse.
In an April 10 letter to Gov. Charles W. Turnbull, Attorney General Iver Stridiron, Sen. Anne Golden and acting Tourism Commissioner Raphael Jackson, Cormorant Beach Resort's president, Arthur Mayer, gave his blow-by-blow account of an ugly scene between white resort managers and black island residents, played out in front of some 50 guests. And when police arrived, Mayer said, they greeted the alleged assailants and did little else.
During the incident, Mayer, who is white, said one man swung a two-by-four at him and another broke a beer bottle over his head.
According to Mayer’s letter to the government officials, a "black man living in the neighborhood" entered the Cormorant dining patio during brunch and began yelling racial epithets. Earlier, Mayer said, the man had thrown a beer bottle at a white island visitor who was preparing to snorkel.
Police responded shortly thereafter, Mayer said, and were asked to arrest the alleged assailant and were told that Mayer wanted to press charges. However, he said, the police presence didn’t solve the problem.
"The most appalling fact is that the three police officers did nothing to stop the continued racial slurs toward my partner and myself," Mayer wrote. "The assailant admitted throwing a beer bottle at the guest, in front of the officers. The officers and guests witnessed beach chairs being vandalized and thrown.
"One black officer was openly hostile to my partner and me, telling us to shut up when we were speaking in normal tones amidst the slurs. It seemed symptomatic that one of the police officers greeted the black assailant with the West Indian handshake.
"At that point, I must admit, I felt very helpless with my complaint that my civil rights were violated."
The officers, however, were called away to another case. Soon after, according to Mayer, trouble began anew. Racial slurs, rock-throwing and the bottle broken over Mayer’s head ensued. Mayer said the inaction on the part of the responding officers endangered the well-being of the resort’s workers, both black and white, and its guests.
Apparently, such problems have been occurring at the resort for more than a year. When contacted Tuesday, Mayer declined to comment. He said a meeting with government officials has been scheduled to discuss the "blatant inaction" by police over the last 13 months that is making it "impossible for us to continue operations."
"For liability reasons," he wrote, "we will have no other choice than to close down our operations if these problems can’t be solved."
St. Croix Deputy Police Chief Novelle Francis couldn’t be reached for comment Tuesday. But the St. Croix Avis reported that day that Francis had promised an investigation into Mayer’s allegations against the officers.
One visitor to the island who witnessed the melee has written to U.S. Sen. Sheldon Silver, chair of the Committee on Appropriations, requesting an investigation into "the leadership, management, oversight and lawfulness of the local authorities here in St. Croix …"

The Senate Rules Committee approved six of seven bills, a lease agreement and a board nomination Tuesday in slightly more than three hours.
All but one of the bills passed unanimously. In that one, Sens. Adlah "Foncie" Donastorg and Allie-Allison Petrus locked horns over the reallocation of funds for the Virgin Islands from the nationwide tobacco industry settlement. The bill to channel 100 percent of the money to the Health Department and the territory's hospitals passed 4-1, with Donastorg opposed. The measure amends earlier legislation dividing the proceeds equally between health areas and the Union Arbitration Fund.
A bill sponsored by Sen. Adelbert "Bert" Bryan, to increase the highway user tax by 4 cents a pound, was held in committee. Bryan was not at the meeting, nor was Sen. Almando "Rocky" Liburd, who was excused.
The nomination of Paulette Rabsatt to the Health Insurance Board was passed unanimously. Rabsatt is deputy assistant to the governor for fiscal policy and economic affairs, a position she has held since March 1999.
Rabsatt, born on St.Thomas, was director of accounting for the Finance Department for six years prior to her current post. She has more than 14 years of managerial accounting experience on both St. Thomas and the U.S. mainland. If approved by the full Senate, she will replace Myriam J. James. Petrus, who heartily approved Rabsatt's nomination, said, "The governor has finally sent down somebody who is qualified and not political."
All senators approved a bill that committee chair Violet Anne Golden claimed will "de-politicize" government hiring practices. It would prevent the governor's political appointees from staying in their positions indefinitely, by eliminating the exempt employees' option to become classified after two years in an exempt or unclassified position.
Senate president Vargrave Richards said the bill has the support of labor and collective bargaining and "could not come at a more appropriate time." He referred to it not being a gubernatorial election year. Sen. Donald "Ducks" Cole called the measure "long overdue."
The tobacco settlement evoked the only dispute in the meeting. Donastorg said, "I have done a lot of soul searching, and I cannot endorse the bill." He asked the other senators if they wanted the 23rd Legislature to be remembered as "Indian givers," since the 22nd Legislature had passed a bill splitting the tobacco funds 50/50 between the Union Arbitration Fund and the Department of Health.
Donastorg said, "While I understand the health concerns, and certainly support health measures, we have to start somewhere giving government employees their due."
Petrus objected, citing figures brought up at earlier meetings showing that the amount reportedly proposed for the arbitration fund, $556,517, would amount to $2.38 per pay period in the first year and only slightly more after that.
Golden tacked on an amendment with minor alterations in leveraging of the funds, and an endorsement of the bill from the boards of the Roy L. Schneider and Juan F. Luis Hospitals.
In other action, the committee approved:
– Two bills which would amend the V.I. Code and bring the territory into federal compliance – one addressing water pollution control, and the other regulating underground storage tanks.
– A bill to protect the Magens Bay Authority from judgment liens and executions against its property.
– A bill to petition the U.S. Interior Department to convey a parcel of Estate Wintberg land as a gift to the territory for use as a park.
– A lease agreement for E.D. Plumbing Contractors.
The bills now go to the full Senate for consideration.
The meeting was attended by committee-member Sens. Gregory Bennerson, Donastorg, Golden, Judy Gomez and Richards, along with non-committee member Sens. Cole and Petrus.