US Virgin islands face spike in gun violence

By Senabri Silvestre

SANTO DOMINGO, Dom. Rep. (AA) – Armed violence has spiked dramatically in the U.S. Virgin Islands, the territory's interim Gov. Osbert Potter said Tuesday.

Thirty-two gun-related deaths have occurred since January on the three-island chain of 100,000 residents, he said.

"Many of the youth in our community have absolutely no regard for life", Potter told The Associated Press.

According to police, 22 killings were in Saint Thomas, an island with just 51,000 inhabitants.

That figure already exceeds the 21 homicides for all of 2015 on the main island in the chain.

The U.S. Virgin Islands has one of the highest per capita murder rates in the world at 52.6 per 100,000 capita, surpassing the world's homicide average rate of 6.2, according to Homicide Monitor.

In the Western hemisphere, only Honduras with 85.5 murders per 100,000 and Venezuela at 53.2, have higher rates, the Brazilian nonprofit Brazilian said.

The Caribbean territory is used by traffickers to transport drugs from South America to the U.S.

The U.S. Virgin Islands is made up of Saint Croix, Saint John and Saint Thomas.