A Weekend of Violence in St. Thomas: Young Woman Dead and Multiple Shootings Stir Community Alarm

The tranquility of St. Thomas was shattered this weekend as a spate of violent incidents left the community in shock and mourning. The Virgin Islands Police Department (VIPD) reported a grim toll: a 20-year-old woman deceased and several others injured in unrelated shootings, sparking a plea from law enforcement for public cooperation.

Captain Bridget Conow, the Chief of Detectives for the St. Thomas and St. John District, conveyed the distressing impact of the weekend’s events on the community. “We faced a series of senseless violent acts this weekend that posed unwanted challenges,” Conow lamented, calling on residents to help restore peace to the Virgin Islands.

The violence began in the early hours of Saturday around Curacao Gade, with two female victims rushed to Schneider Medical Center following a shooting. Tragically, 20-year-old Amisha Alexander Foy was pronounced dead, a victim of the senseless violence that has gripped the community. The second victim, injured near Market Square by a nightclub, survived with non-life-threatening wounds.

The VIPD’s Criminal Investigation Bureau had already been busy before this tragic incident, investigating shootings from March 29. A male victim received treatment for gunshot wounds to his arm inflicted by an unidentified attacker on Wimmelskafts Gade (Back Street). Later, a pregnant woman was shot in the arm on Krondprindsen Gade. Ricardo M. Rhymer was arrested and charged with first-degree assault in connection to this shooting.

Additionally, on March 29, the VIPD executed unrelated arrests. Feliciano Comandante Olivieri was extradited from an Orlando, Florida jail and charged with “Aiding and Abetting-Importation of Firearms without a license”. Kasiem Marsh, from Estate Carolina on St. John, was arrested for a last October assault involving a rock attack.

On the afternoon of March 29, the ShotSpotter system detected a gunshot at Coki Point Beach. Responding officers found a male victim with a leg wound being transported to the hospital by private vehicle. This incident added to the weekend’s toll of violence.

The VIPD is now seeking assistance from anyone with information about these incidents to help bring those responsible to justice. The community is urged to contact the VIPD at 340-774-2211, Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), or the Criminal Investigation Bureau Major Crimes Division at 340-642-8449.