Detective Delberth Phipps, Jr.

Delberth Phipps, Jr.

Detective Delberth Phipps was shot and killed when he and several other officers responded to reports of an armed subject in the Jah Yard area of Hospital Ground shortly before 8:00 am.

As the officers arrived they encountered a subject wearing a ballistic vest and armed with a semi-automatic rifle. The man opened fire on officers and shot Detective Phipps during the ensuing shootout. The subject was also wounded and taken into custody.

Detective Phipps was transported to Schneider Regional Medical Center where he succumbed to his wounds.

The man had been arrested for an unrelated murder several months earlier and was out on bond at the time he murdered Detective Phipps.

Detective Phipps had served with the Virgin Islands Police Department for seven years.