St. Thomas, VI – On Friday, June 6, 2023, a citizen contacted 911 and reported that a male was shot inside the Gottlieb Quickway Service Center.

Responding officers arrived at the scene and observed a black, unresponsive male. Emergency Medical Technicians also arrived on the scene and checked the male for vital signs, and at 9:50 p.m. concluded that the male did not have any signs of life.

The unresponsive male was positively identified by next of kin as 16-year-old Leroy Cornelius, Jr.

Preliminary investigation revealed that on June 6, 2023, two males got into a heated verbal altercation in Gottlieb Quickway Service Station. Cornelius, who accompanied one of the males, brandished a firearm during the altercation, and was subsequently shot by a male who was also inside the establishment.

Anyone having any information about this incident please contact the Virgin Islands Police Department at (340) 774-2211, the Criminal Investigation Unit’s Major Crimes Division at (340) 642-8449 or Crime Stoppers V.I. at 1 (800) 222-TIPS (8477).