ST. CROIX — Two men were shot dead Sunday night at the Louis E. Brown Apartments housing community located near the Melvin Evans Highway in Estate Paradise, the V.I. Police Department has announced. The homicides were the third and fourth in just three days on St. Croix, where gun violence has surged in recent months.

According to the police department, the 911 Emergency Call Center received reports of the shooting at 10:32 p.m. and immediately dispatched officers and other emergency response personnel to the scene.

Upon their arrival, one of the two victims was transported to the Juan F. Luis Hospital for treatment but eventually succumbed to the gunshot wounds, while the other victim was pronounced dead on arrival in the vicinity of building 19 of the housing community.

The V.I.P.D.’s Criminal Investigation Bureau has launched a probe into the shooting, according to V.I.P.D. Director of Communications Glen Dratte.

The double homicide follows two deadly shootings on St. Croix on August 25, when a man was gunned down while doing landscaping work, and later that day when another man was ambushed in the vicinity of building 88 at the Bethlehem Village Housing Community, also known as the Harvey Project. These killings were preceded by a triple homicide in one night on St. Croix on July 26.

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