According to state law, the shooting of a 20-year-old University of South Carolina student who attempted to enter the wrong home on the block where he lived on Saturday morning will not result in charges against the homeowner, Columbia police said on Wednesday.
The Fifth Circuit Solicitor’s Office and the police department determined the homeowner’s actions were justified under the contentious “castle doctrine” law of the state, which states that individuals can act in self-defense regarding “intruders and attackers with no fear of prosecution or civil action for taking action in defense of themselves and their property,” so the homeowner’s identity will not be made public, according to the police. Nicholas Donofrio was killed by a gunshot shortly before 2 a.m. Saturday.
Approximately two miles from the university campus, on the front porch of a house on South Holly Street, Donofrio passed away from an upper-body gunshot wound, according to authorities.
The decision not to charge the shooter, according to Columbia Police, is based on a number of things, including “evidence collected at the scene, review of surveillance video capturing the moments beforehand the shooting, audio evidence, including witness statements.”
Donofrio repeatedly knocked, banged, and kicked on the entrance door “while twisting the door handle” while attempting to enter the house, according to previously unreported facts that police published about the incident on Wednesday.
According to the news release, when Donofrio kicked in the door, a female resident dialed 911 and a male resident went to get a gun from another part of the house. According to authorities, the homeowner legally owned the firearm “for the purpose of personal and home protection.”
Donofrio smashed a glass window on the front door while the woman was speaking to the police, and when he “reached inside to manipulate the doorknob,” the male homeowner fired a shot through the broken window, hitting Donofrio in the upper torso, according to police.
According to the Wednesday release, police are awaiting toxicology findings from the Richland County Coroner’s Office to figure out the victim’s degree and type of impairment.”
The case was described as “heartbreaking” by Columbia Police Chief W.H. Holbrook in a statement. He said that the chief investigator on the case kept in touch frequently with the Donofrio family during the inquiry.
Holbrook expressed, “On behalf of the Columbia Police Department, our sincere condolences for their terrible loss.
“The son every parent dreams of”
An inquiry for comment from NBC News on Thursday morning did not receive a prompt response from a Donofrio family member.
The family of Donofrio sent a statement to NBC station WIS of Columbia in which they described him as “the son that all parents would wish for” and described him as “funny, smart, compassionate, and fond of life.”
We will greatly miss him, the statement read. “We are very appreciative of all the help we have gotten from family, friends, & the community during this terrible time,” the statement reads.
Donofrio, a native of Connecticut, graduated in 2021 from Daniel Hand High School in Madison, a community about 20 miles east of New Haven, according to a prior statement from Madison County Schools Superintendent Craig Cooke and the school’s principal, Anthony Salutari Jr.
Donofrio was a sophomore, and the campus of South Carolina’s Student Affairs team is supporting students, according to an earlier statement from a campus representative.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Donofrio was pursuing a degree in kinesiology and exercise science. According to his obituary, he enjoyed sports and was especially enthusiastic about basketball. He played basketball in high school and on the team at the University of New England his first year before transferring to USC. His obituary stated that he also cherished “working out, enjoying music, and spending time with his friends” as well as going to Chipotle.
The most recent tragic shooting amid a string of errors
The deadly shooting is the most recent in a series of catastrophes where people have been shot — occasionally fatally — for making mistakes. Experts and gun control supporters blame loose gun regulations and an increasingly inflammatory mainstream political discourse for these disasters.
Three of these tragedies happened in the month of April alone: the shooting death of 16-year-old Ralph Yarl in Kansas City following he rang the incorrect doorbell, the fatal shooting of 20-year-old Kaylin Gillis in upstate New York after the car she was in inadvertently pulled into the wrong driveway, and the shooting of two cheerleaders in Texas—one of whom was critically injured—after one of them got into the incorrect car in a supermarket parking lot.
The “stand your ground” as well as “castle doctrine” rules, which permit citizens to use fatal force in self-defense, have been the subject of renewed debate following those shootings. Based on the nonpartisan National Conference of State Legislatures, at least 28 states plus Puerto Rico have some type of self-defense statute that does not force a person to flee from an assault if they are in a place legally.
A number of high-profile killings have been centered on “stand your ground” legislation, also referred to as “shoot first” laws, including the 2012 shooting death of Trayvon Martin, a Black teenager who was shot and killed by George Zimmerman in Sanford, Florida. Zimmerman was charged with murder but was ultimately found not guilty. Although the armed neighborhood watch volunteer’s lawyers chose not to raise the “stand your ground” argument, the case raised more awareness and sparked public debate about the statute.