{
  "id": "2024-04-21-delaware-state-university-fatal-shooting",
  "slug": "delaware-state-university-fatal-shooting-2024-04-21",
  "institution": {
    "name": "Delaware State University",
    "shortName": "DSU",
    "state": "DE",
    "type": "hbcu",
    "enrollment": 5600,
    "alertSystemName": "DSU Alerts"
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2024-04-21",
    "type": "shooting",
    "cleryCategory": "emergency-notification",
    "resolution": "confirmed-threat",
    "headline": "Shooting, April 21, 2024",
    "summary": "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](https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/21/us/delaware-state-university-fatal-shooting/index.html), 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](https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/07/us/delaware-state-university-shooting-arrests/index.html); Hinson pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and Jones to manslaughter. Delaware State University [issued a public statement](https://doverpolice.org/2024/04/21/police-investigating-homicide-on-delaware-state-university-campus/) on campus closure and counseling resources (full text recovered).",
    "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.",
    "casualties": {
      "killed": 1,
      "injured": 0
    }
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestampApprox": "Approximately 3:29 AM EDT on April 21, 2024",
      "channel": "sms",
      "verbatimText": "",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": false,
      "sourceDescription": "Reconstructed from CNN, CBS News, and Dover Police reporting (exact alert wording not published)",
      "annotations": []
    },
    {
      "sequence": 2,
      "type": "update",
      "timestampApprox": "April 21, 2024 (university statement published via Dover PD)",
      "channel": "website",
      "verbatimText": "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.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://doverpolice.org/2024/04/21/police-investigating-homicide-on-delaware-state-university-campus/",
      "sourceDescription": "Official Delaware State University statement quoted in Dover Police Department release",
      "annotations": [
        "Verbatim university statement recovered from Dover PD post of DSU statement.",
        "Prior reconstructed email closure text replaced with confirmed university wording."
      ],
      "characterCount": 349,
      "confidence": "high"
    }
  ],
  "context": "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](https://doverpolice.org/2024/04/21/police-investigating-homicide-on-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](https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/07/us/delaware-state-university-shooting-arrests/index.html) 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](https://news.delaware.gov/2025/09/30/doj-secures-convictions-sentencing-in-college-campus-gun-death/). DSU closed the campus for two days and canceled all events following the shooting.",
  "keyFindings": [
    "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"
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Police Investigating Homicide on Delaware State University Campus (Dover Police)",
      "url": "https://doverpolice.org/2024/04/21/police-investigating-homicide-on-delaware-state-university-campus/",
      "type": "official-archive"
    },
    {
      "title": "Police identify woman fatally shot at Delaware State University (CNN)",
      "url": "https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/21/us/delaware-state-university-fatal-shooting/index.html",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "2 men arrested in death of woman visiting Delaware State University (CNN)",
      "url": "https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/07/us/delaware-state-university-shooting-arrests/index.html",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "DOJ secures convictions, sentencing in college campus gun death (State of Delaware)",
      "url": "https://news.delaware.gov/2025/09/30/doj-secures-convictions-sentencing-in-college-campus-gun-death/",
      "type": "official-archive"
    },
    {
      "title": "Delaware State University shooting victim identified (CBS Philadelphia)",
      "url": "https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/delaware-state-university-shooting-18-year-old-killed/",
      "type": "local-media"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "medium",
  "tags": [
    "shooting",
    "fatal",
    "hbcu",
    "delaware",
    "innocent-bystander",
    "residence-hall",
    "stray-bullet",
    "campus-closure"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-05-02",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-07-26",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}