Police arrest 2 Dover men in connection to teen killed in Delaware State shooting

Camay De Silva was never an intended target.

The 18-year-old was shot and killed when visiting Delaware State University on April 21, according to police, after an altercation unrelated to her visit sparked gun violence near a residential hall that weekend. And two weeks after her death, Dover police called a press conference Monday to identify two Dover men arrested in connection to it.

Destry Jones and Damien Hinson have been arrested in connection to the shots "that claimed the life of Ms. De Silva," Chief Thomas Johnson said Monday morning.

Following a police investigation and cross-state collaboration, Jones was arrested in a Brooklyn apartment on May 2. The 20-year-old now awaits extradition on six charges, including murder. Later the same day, Hinson was arrested in the parking lot of a Dover shopping center. The 18-year-old was committed to Sussex Correctional Institution on cash bail exceeding $3 million under similar charges.

What happened?

Back in the early hours of that Sunday, before 1:40 a.m., De Silva was shot just outside the north end of an underpass outside Warren Franklin Residential Hall.

Chief Johnson said Dover officers heard what they believed to be shots fired in the area of Gate 3 along College Road, at nearly the same time university police received the call reporting shots fired and a fight breaking out on campus. At first, neither agency located a fight or crime scene.

Then, another call reported a woman lying on the ground, suffering from a gunshot wound.

Police now understand Jones and Hinson were part of a group that took part in a "physical altercation," Johnson said, outside the Tubman Laws building before shots were ever fired. Police said an investigation later showed the two left the fight and fired the shots that ultimately killed De Silva.

The prosecution was present Monday, too. Dan Logan, state prosecutor with Delaware's Department of Justice, said his office will "remain laser-focused on pursuing justice to the fullest extent of the law," noting the help of witnesses to bring the case together. Further details were not shared.

Police said Jones and Hinson will each face one count of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted murder in the first degree, one count of possession of a firearm while committing a felony, one count of possession of a firearm by a person prohibited to do so, alongside one count of conspiracy.

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A life lost to gun violence at Delaware State University

After the call that reported her shooting, police said, De Silva was found unconscious and rushed to the hospital. It was too late, and she died from a head wound.

Police said no one else was injured. De Silva was identified by the following Monday morning, and by that Tuesday, Delaware State shared resources with the university community in a virtual forum. The next night, a vigil was hosted on campus.

De Silva is survived by a large extended family and one little sister. The New Jersey native had her eyes on a career in cybersecurity, planning to transfer and finish a degree in computer science at Delaware State University.

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"I know she would have been an exceptional, exceptional student," University President Tony Allen told Monday's crowd. "We continue to pray for your family, and we will take an important moment to honor Camay during this year's commencement ceremony."

That undergraduate ceremony is set for 8 a.m. this Friday, May 10, in Memorial Hall Gymnasium.

Got a story? Contact Kelly Powers at 231-622-2191 or kepowers@gannett.com. Follow her on X @kpowers01.