University of Tampa Student Fatally Shot in ‘Confusing’ Circumstances
The freshman had been bar-hopping with friends before he tried to enter a stranger’s vehicle for unknown reasons, leading the driver to shoot him.
DanTD/Wikimedia Commons
A University of Tampa student was fatally shot early Saturday morning after trying to get into a stranger’s car following a night of bar-hopping.
Tampa police said the student had just taken an Uber home when, for some unknown reason, he approached a vehicle parked on his street and tried to climb inside.
He was then shot in the chest by the driver sitting inside the vehicle, who told police he had “feared for his life” as he didn’t know the young man.
No further information was available on any words exchanged between the two before the driver fired.
While police have not released the student’s name, local news outlet WGRZ reports that family identified him as Carson Senfield, a college freshman.
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David Lilleck, the superintendent of Orchard Park Schools, sent out a community-wide letter announcing the “tragic loss” of Senfield, WGRZ reports.
“Given Carson’s wide circle of friends, and the fact that Carson’s two siblings attend OPHS, the Orchard Park School District recognizes that his passing has a far-reaching impact,” Lilleck was quoted saying.
He said Saturday was Senfield’s 19th birthday.
Police said the driver, who has not been identified, remained at the scene after the incident and was not charged, though it will ultimately be up to prosecutors to decide if that changes.
The incident has left many University of Tampa students baffled by how a seemingly carefree night out with friends could end so tragically.
“He mistook a car and it cost him his life,” Andrew York, a University of Tampa freshman, told WFLA.
“How can that just happen to somebody?” freshman Erika Roberti told the news outlet. “This is supposed to be a safe school. It’s just scary.”
Emily Ollendorff, another freshman, was quoted saying the whole situation was “confusing.” But she added: “We obviously don’t know the full details about it.”
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