Governor Albert Bryan Jr. has identified a cultural shift he believes is fuelling the US Virgin Islands' violence crisis: residents are celebrating gangsters while neglecting education and lawful living.
"We admire gangsters," Mr. Bryan said in a video released by Government House on Sunday. He posed a challenge to the community: compare how many people show up to honour the funerals of respected local figures against the crowds that gather for gang members' services. That contrast, he suggested, exposes what the territory truly prizes.
The governor linked the pattern directly to the killing rate. Violence will keep rising "as long as we continue to idolize the bad-boy lifestyle and not value education and doing the right thing," he said. He acknowledged that choosing the responsible path is not easy, but stressed that without a change in what the community celebrates, the cycle will persist.
Mr. Bryan also cautioned that police can only go so far. "All we could do is do our best to discourage, monitor, arrest, investigate," he explained, shifting the weight of responsibility to residents themselves to "enforce the rules that are before it."
Government House's statement alongside the video urged the community to lift up education, hard work, responsibility and people living right. It called on families, schools, churches and neighbourhoods to model those values.
The remarks arrive as the territory faces a stark toll. Through October, the US Virgin Islands had logged 40 homicides in 2026, according to Consortium data. St. Croix accounted for 23 of those, including a killing on October 11 near the G-Max Service Station in Golden Rock. St. Thomas recorded 17 homicides; St. John had none.
Police Commissioner Mario Brooks made related points during a Government House briefing on September 28. He noted that residents who harbour fugitives, tip off criminals about police movements and pursue revenge are actively working against violence reduction efforts.
Comments
No comments yet. Be the first.