2 men charged for allegedly shooting Camay De Silva in head on Delaware State's campus
Two men have been arrested for allegedly killing a young woman who was shot in the head last month on Delaware State University's main campus, police said.
The Dover Police Department in Delaware announced on Tuesday that Destry Jones, 20, and Damien Hinson, 18, were arrested in connection to the death of 18-year-old Camay Mitchell De Silva.
"I want to express my deepest condolences to the family of Camay De Silva," Chief Thomas Johnson, Jr. said during a news conference. "Camay’s family has been in our thoughts from the moment this senseless act of violence occurred and our hope is that these apprehensions can help begin the process of healing."
What happened on Delaware State University's campus?
The deadly shooting occurred on April 21 around 1:40 a.m. when Dover police officers heard "what they believed to be shots fired in the area," Johnson said. Around the same time, the Delaware State University Police Department received a report of shots being fired on the school's main campus, according to the chief.
The phoned-in report said the shots stemmed from a physical fight that occurred in the area of one of the college's dormitories, Johnson said. Those involved in the fight fled across a road toward a parking lot, the chief added. Neither agency located a fight, nor a crime scene initially.
Soon after the call came in about the fight, a separate report was made involving a female being on the ground near another one of the school's dormitories, according to Johnson. When officers got to the dorms, they found De Silva suffering from a gunshot wound to her head, the chief said.
The dormitory where the fight occurred is "in the immediate vicinity" of the dorm where De Silva was found, Johnson said. Paramedics took De Silva to a hospital, but she died from her injuries, according to the chief.
De Silva was not involved in any fight and was not the intended target of the gunfire, Johnson said.
Destry Jones, Damien Hinson participated in fight before shooting, police say
The Dover police investigation determined that Jones and Hinson were part of a group that participated in a fight with two males, ages 20 and 21, before shots rang out, according to Johnson. The men were involved in the same fight school police initially received reports about, the chief said.
Jones and Hinson stopped fighting during the physical altercation and at some point began firing gunshots, which "claimed the life of Miss De Silva," Johnson said. Neither Jones nor Hinson were enrolled as students at Delaware State Univerity, and they have no affiliation with the school, according to the chief.
In addition to being charged with De Silva's murder, Jones and Hinson were also charged with the attempted murder of the 20 and 21-year-old males they fought on campus, Johnson said.
Dover police find Destry Jones in New York apartment
The U.S. Marshals, New York City police and Dover police arrested Jones on May 2 at an apartment in Brooklyn, New York, Johnson said. Later that same day, Hinson was arrested in the parking lot of a shopping center in Dover, the chief added.
Both men are charged with one count of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted murder in the first-degree, one count of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, one count of possession of a firearm by a person prohibited and one count of conspiracy in the first degree, Johnson said.
Jones is being held in New York as he awaits extradition, while Hinson was committed to the Sussex Correctional Institution with "a cash bail exceeding $3 million," according to the chief.
"Camay Mitchell De Silva was a young lady who had a contagious smile'
A GoFundMe was created for De Silva's family, and as of Wednesday, has received over $19,000 in donations.
"Camay Mitchell De Silva was a young lady who had a contagious smile and was a source of joy for everyone around her. She was an intelligent and beautiful person who touched the lives of everyone who knew her," according to the GoFundMe page created by family friend Acquania Escarne. "... Unfortunately, Camay's life was tragically taken from her when she was hit by a stray bullet that took her life."
De Silva's grandfather, Martin De Silva, called his granddaughter a "diligent, bright, witty young lady."
"When she entered a room, she brightened the room," Martin De Silva said in late April. "And over the last couple of days, we sit down in this place, and in our anticipation, we want to see her come through that door."
Camay De Silva planned to attend Delaware State University in the Fall
De Silva planned to attend Delaware State University in the Fall of 2024, the GoFundMe page said.
The New Jersey native was on the school's campus visiting her best friend when the shooting occurred, De Silva's mother, Shanelle De Silva, said.
De Silva "wanted to go to DSU" so she could "get a feel for the campus," according to her mother.
"I know she would have been an exceptional, exceptional student," University President Tony Allen said on Monday. "We continue to pray for your family, and we will take an important moment to honor Camay during this year's commencement ceremony."
Contributing: Kelly Powers/ Delaware News Journal