June 13, 7:78 p.m.
The V.I. Police Department updated the investigation on the homicide that occurred on St. Thomas on June 10.
A preliminary investigation revealed that two males got into a heated verbal altercation at Gottlieb Quickway Service Station. Leroy Cornelius, who accompanied one of the males, brandished a firearm during the altercation and was subsequently shot by a male who was also inside the establishment.
June 10, 7:44 a.m.
A 16-year-old boy was shot and killed inside a gas station on St. Thomas Friday night, the V.I. Police Department reported.
A concerned citizen contacted 911 and reported that a male was shot inside the Gottlieb Quickway Service Center, according to the police report.
When VIPD arrived on the scene, they observed an unresponsive Black male. Emergency Medical Technicians also arrived on the scene and checked him for vital signs, and concluded that he did not have any signs of life, the police report stated. He had been shot at least once in the upper body, it said.
The victim was positively identified by next of kin as Leroy Corneilus Jr., age 16, the report stated.
Corneilus’ death marks St. Thomas’ 10th homicide of the year and brings the territory’s total to 19 since the start of 2023, according to the Source Homicide List.*
Anyone with information about this incident should contact the V.I. Police Department at 340-774-2211 or the Criminal Investigation Unit’s Major Crimes Division at 340-642-8449. You can also contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS).
*The Source Homicide List is a chronological log of the homicides recorded in 2023 in the U.S. Virgin Islands, as reported by the VIPD. Cases are broken down by island. While this listing is based on VIPD reports, the Source does not include suicides or vehicular homicides in its listing, which the police and some other media do. This can lead to a discrepancy in the number of incidents reported.
