June 1, 2004 – An Education Complex High School student was shot and killed a little before 3:30 p.m. Tuesday afternoon in the parking area of the school campus.
Jahmalie Henry, 19, of Estate William's Delight was shot in the upper back left shoulder, St. Croix Deputy Police Chief Herminio Velazquez said shortly before 5 p.m. The youth was taken by ambulance to Juan F. Luis Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 4:06 p.m.
His alleged assailant, a 17-year-old Central High School student, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, according to a release issued by Velazquez' office around 10 p.m. Tuesday.
Police said the CHS student also was taking a morning course at Education Complex. They did not release the minor's name.
The case is being handled by the Police Department's Criminal Investigation Bureau on St. Croix. Officers were "questioning other detained individuals and interviewing witnesses," the release stated.
"Preliminary investigation revealed that a possible confrontation occurred between the victim and the alleged shooter, who arrived at the parking area of the school with several individuals," the release said.
School monitors apprehended the alleged assailant and three other individuals and held them until officers arrived, police said.
Velazquez said that police had in their custody a shotgun, presumed to be the weapon used by the assailant, as well as a .25-caliber pistol.
A knowledgeable witness who asked not to be identified said the shooting took place at the end of the school day as students were waiting outside Complex to board buses for transportation home. According to the witness, the CHS student pulled up in a car and opened fire with what the witness described as a sawed-off shotgun.
The witness said the shooting was related to an incident that occurred at Randall "Doc" James Race Track on Monday.
Members of the slain student's family learned of his death at Juan F. Luis Hospital.
The victim's father, Trevor Henry, a Western Auto employee, said Jahmalie had seven brothers and sisters. "Police need to find out where the kids are getting these guns," he said.
The youth's mother, Bridget Williams, a watch assembly plant employee, was accompanied at the hospital by her sister Ophelia Williams-Jackson, Housing Parks and Recreation Department deputy commissioner. Jackson expressed the view that the Police Department "needs to solve crime, they need to have a great forensics department, and they need to stop being dependent on the public to come forward."
Kurt Vialet, High School principal, and Roy Pemberton, Vocational School director, announced late Tuesday afternoon that no classes would be held at the Education Complex facility on Wednesday. They called a meeting of the joint faculties for Wednesday morning. All faculty and staff are to report to the schools as usual, the Education Department announced later.
Police Commissioner Elton Lewis and Police Chief Novelle Francis were in Florida on Tuesday to attend meetings.
The slaying is the 11th this year on St. Croix and the 18th in the territory. It comes little more than two weeks after the island was rocked by the shooting deaths on May 15 of Central High School teacher Natasha Cummings, her 6-week-old son, Tai, and her brother-in-law Wayne Walcott. Jose Carrillo – Cummings' boyfriend, Tai's father and Walcott's brother – has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder.
