3rd World, 4th Dimension – Part 2

I picked up the local newspaper. Something I rarely do. After all, this is a small archipelago. Not much happens here. Especially on a Tuesday. Or so I thought.

“Island News” began on page 3. Here’s what I read:

1. Page 3: "Mother, Baby Injured in Shooting" - Father holding his 2-year old son argues w/another man. That guy draws a gun and fires. Mother holding a baby gets hit by bullet & drops baby on head. No one is arrested.
2. Page 4: "Man Arrested after Confrontation w/Police" - Police respond to a weapons incident. They come up on 2 guys in a car. Driver points an AK-47 at them. Passenger then grabs it and takes off running. Police fire at him & miss. He escapes. They arrest driver & find a loaded 9mm handgun w/13 bullets on him.
3. Page 5: "Police Find Loaded Handgun during Search for Burglar" - Police stop a suspected vehicle. The driver has a fully loaded Smith & Wesson 38 Special revolver in his waistband. He’s charged with possession of an illegal firearm, driving an unregistered vehicle, operating an uninsured vehicle, illegally transferring a vehicle registration sticker & driving without a license.
4. Page 6: "Two Men on Court Release Shot outside of Nightclub" – This one’s good. Two cars pull up outside of a bar on St. Croix. A group of men leap out & start shooting at each other. 2 bystanders get hit. Turns out one just got released from prison and is on parole. The other is under house arrest. He gets hauled off to jail. The guys in the cars escape.
5. Also Page 6: "Police Seize 16 Million Dollars worth of Cocaine" – Along with 15 pounds of pot & 2 guns from a house. After 3 weeks no one’s been arrested or charged. Hmmmmmmm. No charge = no trial. No trial = no evidence needed. Interesting.
6. Page 7: "Man Slain on St. Croix" – The standard “shots fired” & “body found” at a housing community.

Additional articles deal with minor issues like resisting arrest, drugs, DUI’s, etc. The rest of the stories were concerned with continued protests over government employee wage reductions and the usual power outages caused by antiquated plant equipment. Nothing new there.

Not mentioned is the car in the photograph that returned to our lot. The renter had parked it in front of an upscale shopping mall that happens to be situated across from public housing. When she returned that evening she found 18 bullet holes in it. The word on the street is someone being chased used it as a barricade. She refused another vehicle and vowed to stay in her hotel until her plane left. Or as she put it, “her time is up”.      I don’t know why this wasn’t newsworthy. I can only assume that, like the protests & power outages, it happens all the time.