An eyewitness to Thursday’s fatal shooting of beloved St. Croix comedian Jordan “Dutty Heart” Jones spoke Friday of a terrifying attack as he and some friends sat in a bar on the Christiansted boardwalk, including one who is a doctor and performed CPR on Jones in an effort to save him.
According to the eyewitness, Jones and a friend were at the bar around 12:30 p.m. when they noticed a young man standing in the doorway for about 10 minutes, just staring, which prompted the friend to get a knife from the kitchen because he found the behavior to be suspicious.
Jones, who was wearing a gold chain, was suddenly under attack. The friend tried to stab the shooter in defense of Jones but was also shot, according to the eyewitness, who asked not to be named due to safety concerns.
While the V.I. Police Department said in its reports that the attack occurred as Jones walked along the boardwalk, he was inside the bar, the eyewitness said.
Jones, 38, was shot multiple times and later succumbed to his injuries at Juan F. Luis Hospital, according to the police. His companion suffered a graze wound and is recovering from non-life-threatening injuries, they said.
The eyewitness said his friends and family, including a nurse, a radiography technician and a doctor, jumped into action, performing CPR on Jones and helping his companion until paramedics arrived, and then worked alongside the paramedics.
As the shooter ran away with Jones’s gold chain visible in his hand, three other men were sitting on a wall outside the bar, the eyewitness said in an email to the Source.
“When the shooter ran by, at least one of them stood up and took out a gun. This was very early, so at first we thought this was going to be a mass shooting (very scary!). But after the shooter ran by, the guy put the gun back in his waist band and didn’t leave the area, even when police arrived,” the eyewitness recounted.
Just hours after the midday shooting, the VIPD announced it had arrested a 15-year-old boy who faces a slew of charges, including first-degree murder, first-degree robbery, assault, reckless endangerment, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime. He has been remanded to the Youth Rehabilitation Center pending a court hearing.
VIPD Public Information Officer Glen Dratte said Friday that discussions are ongoing as to whether the teen may be “bonded over” as an adult, given the gravity of the crimes.
Meanwhile the investigation continues, he said, and anyone with information is asked to call 911 or the Criminal Investigation Bureau at 340-778-4950. Tips can be made anonymously to CrimeStoppers USVI at 1-800-222-TIPS.
Jones’s death marks the 14th homicide this year in the territory, and the eighth on St. Croix, according to the Source Homicide List.*
*The Source Homicide List is a chronological log of the homicides recorded in 2025 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.
What has happened to the VI? When did we become THOSE people? You’re asking for off island natives to come back home…TO THIS? We HAVE to do better as a community!