Two men were wounded in a hail of gunfire after leaving a Christiansted nightclub early Thursday morning.
Shawn Hendricks, 29, was wounded in the hip and Michael Joseph, 22, was shot four times in his legs as they left the Paparazzi nightclub at approximately 5:22 a.m. Thursday, said St. Croix Deputy Police Chief Novelle Francis.
"The victims reported that while they exited the Paparazzi nightclub they were surprised by a hail of gunfire," Francis said.
As of Thursday afternoon, Hendricks and Joseph remained at Gov. Juan F. Luis Hospital for observation. Francis said police had no suspects or motive for the shooting. He urged anyone with information to contact police investigators.
"There were a whole lot of people out there at the time of the incident," he said.
The early morning nightclub shooting had "nothing to do" with the Crucian Christmas Festival J’ouvert tramp that started a few hours later, Francis said. Despite another shooting incident early Sunday morning near the Festival Village just down the street from the nightclub, Francis said the annual festivities have been free of violence.
"I’m proud of this Festival season," Francis said. "We haven’t had any incidents that can be attributed to the Festival Village or Festival activities."
Persons with information about either shooting are asked to call the V.I. Police Department’s Investigation Unit at 778-2211 ext. 4530.
