A man was shot and killed late Saturday night during St. Thomas Carnival celebrations in the Fort Christian parking lot, the Virgin Islands Police Department reported.
Officers assigned to the Carnival Village detail responded to a report of gunfire near the male restrooms at approximately 11:48 p.m. Upon arrival, police discovered an unresponsive Black male near the bathroom walkway suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, according to the police report.
Emergency Medical Technicians arrived shortly after and determined the man showed no signs of life. He was later identified by next of kin as 26-year-old Franky Matthew, the police report stated.
Matthew’s death marks the territory’s 11th homicide of 2025, and the fourth for St. Thomas, according to the Source Homicide List.*
The investigation is being led by the VIPD Criminal Investigation Bureau’s Major Crimes Division. Authorities urge anyone with information to contact the Virgin Islands Police Department at 340-774-2211, the Major Crimes Division at 340-642-8449, or Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477 (TIPS).
*The Source Homicide List is a chronological log of the homicides recorded in 2025 in the U.S. Virgin Islands, as reported by the VIPD. Cases are broken down by island. While this listing is based on VIPD reports, the Source does not include suicides or vehicular homicides in its listing, which the police and some other media do. This can lead to a discrepancy in the number of incidents reported.
