Photo: ANDRI TAMBUNAN/AFP/Getty Images
The police reported that The man who fatally shot a 20-year-old University of South Carolina student because he tried to enter the wrong house on the street where he lived, will not face charges because the incident was considered “justifiable homicide” under Columbia state law.
The identity of the owner who fired the gun that killed Nicholas Donofrio shortly before 2 a.m. Saturday will not be released because the police department and the Fifth Circuit Attorney’s Office determined that his actions were justifiedthe authorities added.
According to the state’s controversial “castle doctrine” law, people can act in self-defense against “trespassers and attackers without fear of civil prosecution or lawsuits for acting in defense of themselves and others.”
Donofrio died of a gunshot wound to the upper body on the front porch of his South Holly Street home.about 2 miles from the college campus, police said earlier.
Columbia police said the decision not to charge the shooter was based on several factors, including “evidence gathered at the scene, review of surveillance video capturing moments before the shooting, audio evidence, and witness statements.”
According to details released by police on Wednesday, Donofrio repeatedly punched, punched, and kicked the front door “while fiddling with the door handle” while trying to get into the house.
A resident of the home called 911 when Donofrio kicked in the door, while a resident went to retrieve a firearm in another part of the home, according to the news release.
The homeowner possessed the gun legally, “for personal and home protection purposes,” according to police.
While the woman was on the phone with the police, Donofrio broke a glass window of the front door “and reached inside to manipulate the doorknob,” at which point the resident fired a shot through the broken window, hitting Donofrio in the upper body.
Police are awaiting toxicology reports from the Richland County Coroner’s Office “to determine the type and level of impairment of the victim,” according to Wednesday’s announcement.
In a statement, Columbia Police Chief WH Holbrook called the case “heartbreaking” and said the lead investigator on the case maintained close contact with the Donofrio family during the course of the investigation.
“We at the Columbia Police Department extend our deepest condolences on your immeasurable loss,” Holbrook said according to NCB News.
A spokesperson for the University of South Carolina earlier said in a statement that Donofrio was a sophomore and that the university’s Student Affairs team is providing support to the students.
The deadly shooting is the latest in a series of similar tragedies: the shooting of 16-year-old Ralph Yarl in Kansas City after he rang the wrong doorbell; the fatal shooting of 20-year-old Kaylin Gillis after the car she was in mistakenly stopped on the wrong road in upstate New York; and the shooting of two Texas cheerleaders, one of whom was critically injured, after one got into the wrong car in a supermarket parking lot.
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