A woman visiting her best friend at Delaware State University was fatally shot during a nearby altercation. 2 men have been arrested
By Christina Maxouris and Chris Boyette, CNN
(CNN) — Two men have been arrested in connection with the killing of Camay Mitchell De Silva, an 18-year-old woman who was fatally shot last month during a nearby argument at the dorms of Delaware State University, police in Dover said Monday.
De Silva, who was not a student there, was shot during an altercation between two groups of men on the campus – and had not been the intended target of the gunfire, authorities say. She was on campus visiting her best friend, family members told CNN affiliate WPVI.
Destry Jones, 20, and Damien Hinson, 18, were arrested last week and have each been charged with one count of first-degree murder, two counts of first-degree attempted murder, one count of first-degree conspiracy and two firearm-related charges.
“Camay’s family has been in our thoughts from the moment this senseless act of violence occurred and our hope is that these apprehensions can help begin the process of healing,” Dover Police Chief Thomas Johnson Jr. said in a release.
The suspects are not students at the university and are not affiliated with the school, police said. It is unclear if either man has obtained an attorney.
The shooting unfolded shortly after 1:30 a.m. on April 21, according to police. Dover police officers heard what they believed to be gunshots, and around the same time, the university’s police department received a report of shots fired on campus. Another call reported a woman was on the ground near some dormitories, the department said.
Responding officers found De Silva with a gunshot wound to her head, near a breezeway that connects two sections of a dorm. She was taken to a nearby hospital but died of her injuries, authorities said.
Investigators believe Jones and Hinson were involved in a physical altercation outside a dormitory with two other men, police said. Jones and Hinson “disengaged from the physical fight and took part in firing the shots that claimed the life of Miss De Silva,” police alleged.
“Miss De Silva was not involved in this altercation and we do not believe she was the intended target of the gunfire which originated from the breezeway area,” Dover police said.
Jones, who was arrested Thursday in New York, is awaiting extradition on his charges, and Hinson, who was arrested Thursday in Dover, is in custody with cash bail set at more than $3 million, police said.
A mass shooting forced De Silva to flee another college
De Silva’s family members described her as encouraging, smart and comical, and said she intended to pursue a career in cybersecurity, WPVI reported.
De Silva started college last year at Morgan State University in Baltimore, but a shooting there in October 2023 that left five people injured frightened her so much that she decided to go closer to home, according to WPVI.
“The day she was at Morgan State and they had an unfortunate shooting there, she let us all know she was OK. As soon as school was out of lockdown, she took the next train home,” aunt Charlotte De Silva Davis told the news outlet.
At the time of her killing, De Silva was a student at Delaware Technical Community College, a spokesperson for the school told CNN.
But she was in the process of transferring to Delaware State University, WPVI reported.
“The one thing I want everyone to know about her is she was a light and she was about love,” her mother, Shanelle De Silva, said, according to WPVI.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2024 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
