Jeffrey Brian Kennedy, who was shot in the lower back Tuesday afternoon on Snegele Gade, was on St. Thomas to sign up to take his GED pre-exam.
Kennedy, 19, is the son of Terry and Pam Kennedy, owners of the Frenchman's Cay Resort at West End, Tortola.
According to Merlise Henry, manager of the State Office of Vocational, Technical and Adult Education, which is located a couple of blocks from where he was shot, Kennedy had called in advance to find out where the office was. But Henry wasn't there when Kennedy arrived.
"My co-worker said the young man was going to buy a Mother's Day gift" when he left the office after completing the application, she said Wednesday.
Henry speculated that Kennedy probably wasn't sure how to get back to Main Street and wandered up Crystal Gade and onto Snegele Gade.
That is where an unidentified assailant reportedly tried to sell him drugs. It appears that when Kennedy refused the offer, the attacker shot him, apparently with a .380 caliber handgun.
Early reports of Kennedy's injuries indicated he is paralyzed as a result of the gunshot wound.
