The Friday night shooting that left a young man and woman dead on St. Thomas was probably a case of retaliation, Police Commissioner Rodney F. Querrard Sr. said Monday, as he urged all Virgin Islanders to do their part in stemming the tide of violence.
On Friday about 10 p.m. near Anna’s Retreat, “a shooting took place and, as a result, two young lives were lost,” Querrard said. “This is another tragic situation that could have been prevented with the full cooperation of individuals having knowledge of this being planned.”
The commissioner continued, “Unfortunately as a result of the mindset of seeing and hearing and ‘not seeing and hearing,’ two people ages 18 and 20, lost their lives."
The victims, who were the fifth and sixth homicides on St. Thomas since the beginning of the year, the 10th and 11th in the territory, were identified as Jaquan Murrell, 20, and 18-year-old Tiquana Petty.
Officers responding to a report of gunshots fired found the two with multiple gunshot wounds in their car near the Tutu High Rise housing community where both lived. Petty was dead at the scene and Murrell died of his wounds at Schneider Regional Medical Center, police said.
"It is my belief that this was again due to someone retaliating against someone else for something that occurred prior," Querrard said. "The unfortunate thing is the person or people retaliating are not considering others who may be in or around the area when they open fire. This is very unfortunate. It is like life really means nothing to them and the attitude is, ‘so what’ if anyone is present and gets injured or killed.”
“The only way we as a people are going to change this is by all of us doing our part,” he said.
The commissioner urged the general community, but also specifically the people involved in Friday’s incident, to say something.
"I am asking for those who are directly involved in the crime that is taking place, or those of you who may be associated with these individuals, to please do you part and say something before someone else loses their life or gets seriously injured," Querrard said.
"These situations have no end if the information is not passed on. As a result, the retaliations continue. We as a people must step up to the plate and do what is right. Each and every one of us is being affected in one way or the other when these senseless acts of violence take place."
Detectives are aggressively pursuing the case, the commissioner said, and he urged people to contact police with any information, no matter how small or trivial they may think it is.
"If you saw or heard anything relating to these latest murders, please pass it on so the families of the victims can get some closure and the perpetrators could be brought to justice," Querrard said.
Those with information can contact detectives directly at 1-340-642-8449, the 911 emergency dispatch center, or Crime Stoppers USVI at 1-800-222-8477.
