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A University of South Carolina fraternity student is dead after police said a neighbor shot him over the weekend when the student tried to enter the wrong house on his own street.
The Richland County Coroner’s Office identified the student as 20-year-old Nicholas Anthony Donofrio, of Connecticut, the Columbia Police Department reported.
The shooting happened in a suburban neighborhood in southeast Columbia, the state capital. The home is in the city’s Rosewood neighborhood just east of the school’s campus.
Jeffrey Stensland, a university spokesperson, told USA TODAY Donofrio was a sophomore majoring in public health.
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A burglary turned shooting
Just before 2 a.m. Saturday, police reported, officers were sent to a home on South Holly Street for a suspected home burglary.
As officers responded, police said in a news release, the emergency call was upgraded to a “shots fired” call.
Officers found the victim on the front porch dead with a gunshot wound to his upper body, police said.
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‘The wrong home’
According to preliminary information, police said Donofrio lived on South Holly Street and tried to enter the wrong home when he was shot.
Columbia police spokesperson Jennifer Timmons said the shooter was a man who lived in the home. She said police were not releasing the homeowner’s name because he had not been charged in the case as of Monday.
Police said they will work with the local prosecutors to determine the circumstances around the case and whether charges will be filed.
‘Heartbroken and in disbelief’
Donofrio was a Phi Kappa Sigma member and lived at the school’s fraternity house. Will Graves, president of the school’s chapter, told USA TODAY the fraternity was in mourning Monday and asked for privacy while its members grieve.
His parents, Lue and Diana Donofria, told local WTNH they are “heartbroken and in disbelief” about the death of their son, who graduated in 2021 from Daniel Hand High School in Madison, Connecticut.
The couple told the outlet he attended the University of New England, where he played basketball before transferring to USC.
Their child, the station reported, was “loving, compassionate … all the traits you would want in a son.”
His parents could not immediately be reached by USA TODAY.
‘Providing resources’
The shooting came less than 72 hours after the university’s fall semester classes began Thursday.
Stensland said the university’s Student Affairs team is “providing resources and support to those who may be affected by this tragedy” and was reminding students that “help is always available to them.”
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X, formerly Twitter, @nataliealund.
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