Hospital terrorized...Gunmen enter and execute patient

By L.K. Hewlett
Editor- SKNVibes.com

~~Adz:Left~~St. Croix, USVI- Staff and patients at the Juan F. Luis Hospital are still reeling from Wednesday’s early morning attack on the medical institution when five gunmen forced their way past security and according to reports “pumped a patient full of bullets”.

The assailants apparently entered the facility with a specific target in mind, killing 28-year-old Shadrach Frett of St. Thomas, who was hospitalized for treatment of gunshots wounds sustained in a shootout last Monday in Catherine’s Rest that also left another man wounded. Frett was reportedly living in St. Croix for over a year, having bounced around between the Virgin Islands and the US mainland for some time.

Frett was at the time he was killed under the protective care/custody of the Bureau of Corrections in relation to said shooting incident. Despite being wounded, Frett had been charged for weapon possession for an AK-47 rifle found in his apartment during the police investigation.

Reports indicate that nurses on duty saw the men enter the surgical ward just before 4 a.m. wearing masks and gloves and wielding guns. It was said that the staff ran for cover and dialed 911as the men went directly to Frett’s room.

All five men reportedly riddled Frett with “dozens” of bullets before fleeing the hospital.

After police arrived at the scene of the massacre, the hospital was immediately shut down and visitors prevented from entering. Loved ones and relatives of patients reportedly flooded the hospital phone lines to inquire about the warded patients’ condition.

Assistant Police Commissioner Novelle Francis held a press conference that same afternoon and revealed that police were in possession of video footage of the assault but declined to say how the men gained access through a door that requires keying in a security code or being buzzed in from the inside.

A green Ford, believed to be the get-away vehicle was found within close proximity to the hospital a few hours after the shooting occurred. The vehicle had reportedly been stolen late last year.

Vincent Frazer, Attorney General informed the public that Frett along with another inmate had been assigned a protection detail and that the Corrections officer was on duty in the unit but not present in Frett’s room at the time he was slain.

He referred to the incident as “brazen” and said the matter would be investigated. Frazer neglected to say if there was any relation between Frett’s execution and last week’s shooting incident.

Frazer was quoted in the VI Daily News as saying, “Federal law enforcement agencies including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Immigration and Custom Enforcement, U.S Marshal Service, Drug Enforcement Administration and the Coast Guard have been providing assistance to local law enforcement officers in the hunt for the shooters”.