The 911 Emergency Call Center received multiple calls Tuesday from concerned citizens that a man had been shot by Castle Coakley Road in the vicinity of Kiki’s Auto on St. Croix, the V.I. Police Department reported.
Authorities responded to the incident. The victim was taken by ambulance to Juan F. Luis Hospital, where he later died from gunshot injuries, the police report stated.
The deceased has been identified by the next of kin as 31-year-old Anthony Ventura, the report stated.
A preliminary investigation revealed that Ventura was involved in a verbal altercation with another man during which he made multiple threats against the man and his family, it said.
While the man was in his vehicle with his family, Ventura approached the vehicle on the passenger side window, extending his arm into the vehicle, with his other arm reaching for something at the rear of his waist. The man then shot Ventura in his upper chest, according to the report.
Ventura’s death is the territory’s 19th homicide, bringing the tally on St. Croix to seven dead from violence this year, according to the Source Homicide List.*
This is still an active investigation by the Criminal Investigation Bureau, police said.
* The Source Homicide List is a chronological log of the homicides recorded in 2024 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.
