‘HEARTBREAKING’

Student’s Fatal Shooting as He Entered Wrong House Deemed ‘Justifiable’

Nicholas Donofrio, 20, was gunned down as he tried to get into what he thought was his own home, authorities say.

A homeowner will not face charges for fatally shooting University of South Carolina student Nicholas Donofrio because the gunman was justified in protecting his property, authorities said. In a news release Wednesday, the Columbia Police Department said the incident last Saturday had been deemed “a justifiable homicide.” Investigators determined that Donofrio, 20, lived on the same street as the house where he was shot dead, and that he “mistakenly went to the wrong home and attempted to enter by repeatedly knocking, banging, and kicking at the front door while manipulating the door handle” in the early hours. Police added that a male resident at the home opened fire when “Donofrio broke the front door glass window and reached inside to manipulate the doorknob.” “This is a heartbreaking case for all involved,” Columbia Police Chief W.H. ‘Skip’ Holbrook said.