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911 call reveals what happened before student was fatally shot trying to enter wrong house

Home> News> Crime

Published 19:48 26 Jan 2024 GMT

911 call reveals what happened before student was fatally shot trying to enter wrong house

The South Carolina student was found dead at the scene

Rhianna Benson

Rhianna Benson

The world was left reeling last year after it was announced that an innocent colleague student had been fatally shot after entering the wrong house.

20-year-old Nicholas Donofrio - a student at the University of South Carolina - was traveling to South Holly Street in Colombia in an Uber following a night out in August 2023.

Friends later recalled Nicholas being sent home from a party after being too drunk, but he never arrived.

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Instead, the Uber had dropped the young man a fair distance from his house, but being under the influence, he failed to recognize that he'd arrived at the other end of the street.

According to police on the scene, the Connecticut-born student had repeated banged on the door of a house he believed was his own, and started 'kicking at the front door while manipulating the door handle'.

In fear of who was attempting to break into their home, the tenants of the property called the authorities in a 911 call which has since gone viral online.

Nicholas Donofrio died of a gunshot would in August last year.
Daniel Hand High School via CT Insider

In the audio - obtained by Fox News Digital - a terrified woman can be heard telling the answering officer in the early hours of 26 August 2023: "Hi, somebody's trying to break into our house.

"They're trying to break in the front door. They're banging on it. They just broke the window. My boyfriend just shot through the door... Please get here fast."

It was then that the crying woman alerts the officer that she thought her boyfriend had 'hit' the individual attempting to break-in, later being identified as Nicholas.

She told the officers that the person had tried to break their way through the 'frosted' glass panel of the their front door before being shot.

Upon attending to scene, police found the 20-year-old dead on the front porch of the property.

Nicholas was shot dead trying to enter the wrong home.
WLTX

It was around the same time that Nicholas' friends alerted the authorities that he hadn't arrived home, despite being sent there in an Uber.

Another 911 call hears the panicking friends filing a missing persons report.

"We haven't heard from him in hours. [The Uber driver] was supposed to drop him off at home, and he never made it, and I have no idea where he is, and we are all incredibly worried," they can be heard saying down the phone.

Within days of the shooting, Columbia Police Department ruled that the tenants' shooting of Nicholas was legally acceptable on the grounds that residents of South Carolina reserve the right to defend themselves and their property with a gun.

Charges were therefore not filed against the anonymous residents.

No charges were filed against the shooter.
Getty/aire images

Columbia Police Department Chief W.H. 'Skip' Holbrook said in a statement at the time: "This is a heartbreaking case for all involved.

"Our lead investigator has diligently worked to gather all the facts surrounding this incident.

"He has also maintained contact with the Donofrio family throughout the investigation. We at the Columbia Police Department extend our deepest condolences for their immeasurable loss."

The youngster's mother later declared she is 'very proud' of her son.

"We were very lucky to be his parents and love him very much. He was the son that every parent would wish for," she wrote online.

"Nick was also loved by his brother, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and extended family.

"He had many, many friends, some of whom were like brothers to him. Nick was funny, smart, compassionate, and loved life. We will miss him immeasurably.

"We are extremely grateful for all the support we have received from family, friends, and the community during this tragic time."

Featured Image Credit: Daniel Hand High School via CT Insider / WLTX

Topics: Gun Crime, Crime, US News

Rhianna Benson
Rhianna Benson

Rhianna is an Entertainment Journalist at LADbible Group, working across LADbible, UNILAD and Tyla. She has a Masters in News Journalism from the University of Salford and a Masters in Ancient History from the University of Edinburgh. She previously worked as a Celebrity Reporter for OK! and New Magazines, and as a TV Writer for Reach PLC.

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@rhiannaBjourno

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