Fatal shooting of University of South Carolina student who tried to enter wrong home 'justifiable,' police say

https://lemmy.world/post/4207159

Fatal shooting of University of South Carolina student who tried to enter wrong home 'justifiable,' police say - Lemmy.world

The homeowner who fatally shot a 20-year-old University of South Carolina student who tried to enter the wrong home on the street he lived on Saturday morning will not face charges because the incident was deemed “a justifiable homicide” under state law, Columbia police announced Wednesday. Police said the identity of the homeowner who fired the gunshot that killed Nicholas Donofrio shortly before 2 a.m. Saturday will not be released because the police department and the Fifth Circuit Solicitor’s Office determined his actions were justified under the state’s controversial “castle doctrine” law, which holds that people can act in self-defense towards “intruders and attackers without fear of prosecution or civil action for acting in defense of themselves and others.”

Donofrio repeatedly knocked, banged and kicked on the front door “while manipulating the door handle” while trying to enter the home.

Donofrio broke a glass window on the front door “and reached inside to manipulate the doorknob”

Yeah, that’s more than just trying to walk into the wrong house when you’re blackout drunk, so I can see why they would consider it justified. But that’s the word of the police, so we’ll see if a different story comes out later.

We’ll only ever hear one side of this story because the other witness is dead.

No, they have physical evidence, audio evidence which probably means camera or video doorbell and the kid died on the front porch of someone else’s house. Seems like the story told itself. The simple explanation is he tried breaking into the wrong house thinking it was his own.

Not saying he deserved to die over his mistake, it’s tragic and sad that the situation occurred.

What would the other side of the story be? That he was breaking into his own house, but that the gun was fired from someone that had already broken into his own house and was wrongfully residing there? The facts are pretty basic here.
You are reading as though it is undisputed facts. One reason it is undisputed is because the victim is dead. For one it would be nice to see how likely it was he actually broke glass or reached inside. Was it clear video from a camera at the door? Or some grainy footage from a neighbor across the street? It doesn’t say.