Campus Alert Archive
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Stray bullet kills visitor during dormitory altercation

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Confirmed Threat

In the early morning of April 21, 2024, at approximately 1:40 AM EDT, shots were fired near Warren-Franklin Residential Hall at Delaware State University, killing 18-year-old Camay Mitchell DeSilva of Wilmington, who was visiting a friend on campus. DeSilva was an innocent bystander hit by a stray bullet during an altercation over money between two groups. Two men, Destry Jones and Damien Hinson, were later arrested; Hinson pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and Jones to manslaughter. Delaware State University issued a public statement on campus closure and counseling resources (full text recovered).

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
1
Injured
0
Institution
Delaware State University
Hbcu · DE
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~5,600 studentsDSU Alerts
Official alert policy
Read when and how DSU says it will use DSU Emergency Alert (powered by 911 Cellular; CampusShield app): summarized, quoted, and analyzed.
Documented Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence · 1 verified verbatim

Confirmed wording is transcribed character-for-character from a primary source. Use Verify this quote under each message to open that source in a new tab and compare the text yourself.

Some messages in this sequence are documented (their existence, timing, and channel are sourced) but their exact wording is not preserved in the public record. Those entries appear as placeholders; only confirmed text is displayed.

INITIAL ALERTSMS
Wording not yet recovered

A message was sent at this point in the sequence; its exact wording has not yet been recovered from the official record, so no text is shown. This site never paraphrases or reconstructs alert wording. Markers like this one keep the emergency's true shape and become word-for-word messages as recovery reaches the source.

UPDATEWebsite
Verified verbatim349 chars
The DSU Police Department and staff will continue to take all necessary actions to ensure the health and well-being of our campus community. Counseling services are available in the Tubman Laws Hall housing office. The campus is closed today, events have been cancelled, and police patrols have been increased. No visitation will be permitted today.
Verify this quote
Official Delaware State University statement quoted in Dover Police Department releasedoverpolice.orgfind archived copies
Verbatim university statement recovered from Dover PD post of DSU statement.
Prior reconstructed email closure text replaced with confirmed university wording.
Context

Background

At approximately 1:40 AM EDT on April 21, 2024, officers from the Dover Police Department and DSU Police responded to reports of shots fired near Warren-Franklin Residential Hall on the Delaware State University campus. They found 18-year-old Camay Mitchell DeSilva suffering from a gunshot wound to her upper body. She was pronounced dead at the scene. DeSilva, a Delaware Technical Community College student from Wilmington, had been visiting her best friend on campus and planned to transfer to DSU in the fall to study cybersecurity. The investigation revealed that Destry Jones and Damien Hinson had gotten into an altercation over money with two other individuals in the area of the Tubman-Laws dormitory. Jones gave Hinson a firearm, and Hinson fired seven shots. None of the intended targets were hit, but a stray bullet struck DeSilva, who was outside near Warren-Franklin Hall. Both Jones and Hinson were arrested in May 2024 and initially charged with first-degree murder, attempted murder, and firearms offenses. In September 2025, Hinson (19) pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 40 years; Jones (22) pleaded guilty to manslaughter. DSU closed the campus for two days and canceled all events following the shooting.
Analysis

Key Findings

The victim was an innocent bystander visiting a friend; she had no connection to the altercation that led to the shooting
DeSilva was planning to transfer to DSU in the fall, making her death particularly tragic for the campus community
Seven shots were fired during the altercation but none hit the intended targets; a single stray bullet killed DeSilva
Outcome
Camay Mitchell DeSilva, 18, was killed by a stray bullet. She was not a DSU student but a Delaware Technical Community College student who planned to transfer to DSU. Damien Hinson, 19, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, weapons offenses, and first-degree conspiracy and was sentenced to 40 years. Destry Jones, 22, pleaded guilty to manslaughter, weapons offenses, and first-degree conspiracy.
Provenance

Sources

Every claim on this page is meant to be checkable. Open the links below (and the Verify this quote control under each confirmed alert) to read the original university, news, or archive page yourself. Hostnames are shown so you can see where you are going; archived copies survive when live pages move or disappear. See also our methodology.

  1. Official
    Police Investigating Homicide on Delaware State University Campus (Dover Police)
    doverpolice.org
    archived copy
  2. News
    Police identify woman fatally shot at Delaware State University (CNN)
    cnn.com
    archived copy
  3. News
    2 men arrested in death of woman visiting Delaware State University (CNN)
    cnn.com
    archived copy
  4. Official
    DOJ secures convictions, sentencing in college campus gun death (State of Delaware)
    news.delaware.gov
    archived copy
  5. News
    Delaware State University shooting victim identified (CBS Philadelphia)
    cbsnews.com
    archived copy
Cite this case

Campus Alert Archive. "Delaware State University: Stray bullet kills visitor during dormitory altercation." Incident of April 21, 2024. Added May 2026; last updated August 2026. https://campusalertarchive.com/case/delaware-state-university-fatal-shooting-2024-04-21/

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Alert text quoted on this page remains the work of the issuing institution; the archive is a secondary source.

Tags
shootingfatalhbcudelawareinnocent-bystanderresidence-hallstray-bulletcampus-closure
Added May 2026Updated August 2026Via ingestion