Now the Delaware State University shootings have become a homicide case.
Sadly, Shalita Middleton did not recover after being shot on campus last month.
Student Shot On DSU Campus Dies
One of the two people struck in last month's shooting at Delaware State University died Tuesday, according to school officials and family.
Shalita Middleton died at approximately 3:30 p.m. The 17-year-old freshman biology major had been hospitilized since the Sept. 21 shooting.
The Dover campus went into lockdown following the shooting 32 days ago. Fellow student Nathanial Pugh was also shot and has recovered.
Freshman Loyer Braden, 18, was arrested in connection with the shooting and charged at the time with first-degree attempted murder, first-degree attempted assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and first-degree reckless endangering.
Police said Braden may now face a murder charge as a result of Middleton's death but no new charge was filed Tuesday night.
The state attorney general's office had already taken over prosecution of the case.
Investigators said the violence was in retaliation for an argument over a card game.
...In a statement Tuesday, Middleton's family thanked physicians and staff at Christiana Hospital as well as the university's administration "for its support during these difficult and painful times."
"She struggled valiantly over the last several weeks, and she was an inspiration to all of her friends both in Washington, D.C., and in Delaware, as well as her family members, especially her mother, Lavita, and her father, Tom. Ultimately, however, the internal injuries that she suffered were in the end too critical to overcome," the statement read.
University President Allen L. Sessoms said in a statement: "The DSU community are grieving and deeply saddened by the passing today of Shalita K. Middleton, a freshman biology major and cheerleader here at our institution. Our thoughts are with her family and friends at this most difficult time. I know I speak for all our DSU family in offering our heartfelt condolences."
I thought that Shalita Middleton was recovering.
It's a shock to learn that she passed away Tuesday afternoon.
What a senseless tragedy that the life of this young woman, this girl, was cut so short.
I hope the charges against Loyer Braden, the alleged shooter, are altered to reflect her death.
