Above: St Croix

By the Caribbean Journal staff

St Croix Police Chief Christopher Howell addressed the public Wednesday at a press conference at the Virgin Islands Police Department Rainbow Complex.

It was Howell’s first public appearance since he was shot while pursuing suspects in an armed robbery last weekend. Officer Elsworth Jones, who was also shot at the time, was on hand as well.

Howell said at a press conference that, contrary to initial reports, the injury to his left arm had been life-threatening, but the medical staff at Juan Luis Hospital had helped him make what is expected to be a full recovery.

Howell said the gunmen who shot him and Jones had been lying in wait off the side of the road as the two police officers pursued a car believed to have been carrying suspects in an armed robbery at a Cane Bay restaurant.

After the two were both shot by gunmen, Officer Jones, despite being wounded in the face, got out of the car and pulled his weapon to protect Howell until backup arrived.

“There is a misconception that this event may have weakened the VIPD, and I am here to tell you that it has not,” he said. “It has actually empowered us. We’re still here and we’re not going anywhere.”