Delaware State University shooting: Two men were arrested for killing a woman who was visiting her best friend

CNN
—

Two men were arrested in connection with this Killing of Camay Mitchell De Silva, an 18-year-old woman who was fatally shot during an argument near the Delaware State University dorms last month, Dover police said Monday.

De Silva, who was not a student there, was shot during an altercation between two groups of men on campus – and was not the intended target of the shooting, according to authorities. She was on campus visiting her best friend, family members told CNN affiliate WPVI.

Destry Jones, 20, and Damien Hinson, 18, were arrested last week and each charged with one count of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted first-degree murder, first-degree conspiracy and two counts of firearm-related charges.

“Camay’s family has been in our thoughts from the moment this senseless act of violence occurred and we hope these concerns can help begin the healing process,” Dover Police Chief Thomas Johnson Jr. said in a news release.

The suspects were not students of the university or affiliated with the school, police said. It is unclear whether either man has hired a lawyer.

According to police, the shooting occurred just after 1:30 a.m. on April 21. Dover police officers heard what they believed to be gunshots, and around the same time, university police received a report of shots fired on campus. Another call revealed a woman lying on the ground near some residence halls, the department said.

Responding officers found De Silva with a gunshot wound to the head near a doorway connecting two areas of a residence hall. She was taken to a nearby hospital but died from her injuries, authorities said.

Investigators believe Jones and Hinson were involved in a physical altercation with two other men outside a residence, police said. Jones and Hinson “withdrew from the physical fight and participated in firing the shots that claimed the life of Miss De Silva,” police alleged.

“Miss De Silva was not involved in this altercation and we do not believe she was the intended target of the shots that came from the Breezeway area,” Dover police said.

Jones, who was arrested Thursday in New York, is awaiting extradition on his charges, and Hinson, who was arrested Thursday in Dover, is in custody, according to police. The bail is more than $3 million.

De Silva’s family members described her as encouraging, smart and funny and said she intended to pursue a career in cybersecurity, WPVI reported.

De Silva began studying at Morgan State University in Baltimore last year, but a shooting there in October 2023 that left five people injured so frightened her that she decided to move closer to home, according to WPVI.

“The day she was at Morgan State and there was an unfortunate shooting there, she let us all know she was OK. As soon as the school closure was lifted, she took the next train home,” aunt Charlotte De Silva Davis told the news agency.

At the time of her murder, De Silva was a student at Delaware Technical Community College, a spokesperson for the school told CNN.

However, according to WPVI, she was in the process of transferring to Delaware State University.

“The one thing I want everyone to know about her is that she was a light and stood for love,” her mother, Shanelle De Silva, said, according to WPVI.