Gun battle erupts at funeral
Published: July 13, 2010
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Tourists, police, taxi drivers and mourners watch as police look for evidence at the scene of a shooting near Coki Point.
ST. THOMAS — A quiet, somber midmorning burial ceremony Monday at Coki Point Cemetery turned into a scene of pandemonium and chaos when a gun battle between gang factions broke out.
When the shooting stopped, an 18-year-old man was dead in the street, and a 14-year-old tourist vacationing with her family had been shot in the side while she was riding on a safari taxi. She later died from her injury.
In a statement to news media at the scene, V.I. Police Commissioner Novelle Francis Jr. said a person in a red vehicle opened fire on another individual who was in the funeral crowd.
The vehicle, a red Honda Civic with license number TEB-607, was extensively damaged — its rear window was missing and there was a bullet hole in its right side and bumper.
Emergency dispatchers received a call of the shooting about 11:50 a.m. from a police officer who was on patrol in the area, Francis said.
“We had a police officer at the scene on patrol at the Coki Point area, and he responded when he heard the gunfire and also called for further assistance. So, he has been able to provide some preliminary information on the case. The officer was assigned here for patrol purposes because of the situation we’ve been having at Coki Point and Coral World and other areas. An officer has been assigned here on a daily basis to help suppress any type of situation here,” he said.
Shortly after the gun battle, three suspects were taken into custody as persons of interest. They were apprehended during the search of the immediate area by the responding police and detectives, Francis said.
A fourth man, Steve Tyson, who was the driver of the car, remains at large and is being sought by police, police spokeswoman Melody Rames said in a press release.
Police have warned that Tyson may be armed and dangerous.
Mourners ran helter-skelter, trying to find refuge behind trees, parked vehicles and tombstones. Tourists and locals at Coki Point beach, the nearby Coral World and surrounding areas ducked for cover as the thundering sound of gunfire pierced the quietness.
Police arriving on the scene found a young man lying in a pool of blood in the middle of the roadway. He had a gunshot wound to the body, and emergency medical technicians at the scene determined that he was dead.
Rames said in a press release that the man was found with a loaded magazine in his possession.
The 14-year-old girl, who was a passenger on the cruise ship Carnival Victory and who was visiting the island with her family, also was shot and taken to Schneider Hospital.
The girl had been a passenger on a safari taxi and was caught in the crossfire, Rames said.
The child died shortly after arriving at the hospital, Schneider Hospital spokesman Sam Topp said.
“A minor female was brought to the hospital minutes after noon. She died shortly after arriving there from a single gunshot wound to the side,” Topp said.
A press release from the V.I. Tourism Department identified the girl as Liz Marie Perez Chapparro.
A statement issued by Gov. John de Jongh Jr. identified the dead man as 18-year-old Shahid Joseph.
The governor’s statement said Monday’s shooting was a reminder that the community must step up its efforts against those who have chosen violence as a way of life.
“Today’s tragedy was caused, as have other recent acts of violence, by those who believe they can take the law into their own hands. But they cannot and they will not,” the statement said. “This trend of senseless killings by some of our young people will not end until parents and guardians stop being enablers. Stop ignoring the fact that they are bringing illegal guns into their homes or accepting the angry behavior they exhibit and so easily act upon.
“What we are experiencing today is the result of many years of neglect which we can no longer tolerate,” the statement said. “Everyone must rise up against those who continue to wage violent crime on our streets.”
Within minutes of learning of the death of one of its passengers, Carnival Victory issued a brief statement.
“Carnival Cruise Lines is profoundly shocked and saddened by this tragedy and we extend our deepest sympathy and condolences to the victim’s family and loved ones in the wake of this unfathomable act of senseless violence,” the statement read, in part.
The shooting exploded on a peaceful scene. Relatives and friends had gathered at Coki Point Cemetery to pay their last respects to Joseph Ferrari, who was shot and killed in the Tutu Park Mall parking lot June 29.
“While we were putting the body in the tomb, I heard two shots, and I wondered if people were celebrating,” Ulric Ferrari, the uncle of the dead man, told The Daily News. “Then, I heard two more shots, and I thought they were firecrackers. Then, there were 12 to 18 more coming in rapid succession. Most people were trying to run behind cars, trees, tombs and whatever there was to hide behind, because we didn’t know where the shots were coming from. It was shocking to see that someone who came to a funeral got shot. That’s kind of disrespect to the dead,” Ferrari said.
Onlookeers and other mourners gave similar accounts of what transpired Monday morning.
Police are appealing to the public for help, and anyone with information can call 911, the Criminal Investigation Bureau at 715-5516 or 714-9834 or the Crime Stoppers USVI anonymous tipline at 1-800-222-8477.
“This is an unfortunate situation, however, the Police Department will use all available resources to make sure that we identify and apprehend those responsible for this heinous crime,” Assistant Police Commissioner Raymond Hyndman said.
Monday’s killings were the territory’s 46th and 47th for the year, and it is one of recent incidents involving gunfire in crowded areas during the middle of the day:
• On June 30, Ferrari was killed and another man was injured in a shooting just outside the entrance to the Tutu Park Mall. The incident occurred around noon, one of the busiest periods at the mall.
• A shooting on May 6, 2009, left a 10-year-old boy wounded after a school bus carrying 24 students toward Bovoni was caught in crossfire. Police said an eyewitness identified Richie Fontaine as one of the shooters in a gun battle near E. Benjamin Oliver Elementary School. The child was hospitalized, but survived the shooting, and Fontaine was arrested Aug. 23.
• On March 25, 2009, a shootout erupted at Fort Mylner shopping center about 4:20 p.m. No one was injured, however, two men were arrested.
• On March 17, 2009, passengers in a high-speed chase with police shot at officers, who returned fire. The chase, which ran from Oswald Harris Court housing community to Brookman Road left a bystander at Fort Mylner shot in both legs.
• On Dec. 11, 2008, two men were killed by a hail of gunfire behind the Tutu Park shopping mall. The shootings occurred on a Thursday about 4:15 p.m. at a time of the year when the mall is normally packed with holiday shoppers.
