A University of South Carolina student was fatally shot early Saturday after he tried to enter the wrong home on his own street, the Columbia Police Department said – the latest case in which someone in the US was shot after apparently approaching the wrong home.
Nicholas Anthony Donofrio, 20, of Connecticut, was killed, police said in a news release, citing the Richland County Coroner’s Office. The university confirmed Donofrio was a sophomore at the school.
Police initially responded to a report of a home burglary around 2 a.m. Saturday, the release said. The incident was upgraded to a shots-fired call as officers headed to the 500 block of South Holly Street in Columbia, about two miles from campus.
Officers found Donofrio dead on the home’s front porch with a gunshot wound to his upper body, police said.
“Preliminary information indicates that Donofrio who resided on South Holly Street attempted to enter the wrong home when he was fatally shot,” the release said.
Police have not released any information about who shot Donofrio, adding they would consult prosecutors in the Fifth Circuit Solicitor’s Office as they investigate.
The case is the latest in which the victim appears to have gone to the wrong place at the wrong time in a nation with more guns than people. A Missouri teen was shot in the head in April after ringing the wrong doorbell, and a woman days later was shot and killed in upstate New York after she and her friends pulled into the wrong driveway en route to a party.
Donofrio’s death could reignite the discussion of homeowners’ rights amid perceived threats to defend their property. South Carolina is one of at least 28 states, plus Puerto Rico, with a so-called “stand your ground” law, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
The statutes might be worded differently but generally allow a person to use force without fear of prosecution in response to a threat in a place where the individual has a right to be, including but not limited to a home.
University of South Carolina student affairs personnel were “providing resources and support to those who may be affected by this tragedy, and we remind all of our students that help is always available to them,” the college told CNN in a statement.