Nicholas Anthony Donofrio, University of South Carolina student from Connecticut, fatally shot while trying to enter wrong home off campus

COLUMBIA, S.C. — A University of South Carolina student from Connecticut was shot and killed as he apparently tried to enter the wrong off-campus home, police said. 

Nicholas Anthony Donofrio, 20, was dead by the time police responded to reports of a home burglary and shooting, according to a Columbia Police Department news release. Officers found Donofrio's body on a front porch around 2 a.m. Saturday. 

Donofrio had a gunshot wound to his upper body, the release said.

Police said preliminary information indicated that Donofrio, a sophomore, lived on the street where he was shot but apparently was attempting to enter another home. The shooting occurred in a neighborhood adjacent to the campus. 

The statement didn't say who shot Donofrio or if any charges were immediately filed. In an email on Saturday afternoon, a department spokesperson said the investigation "remains active" but didn't release more information.

The police department said its investigators are consulting with the Fifth Circuit Solicitor's Office on the circumstances of the shooting.

Classes at the university had resumed for the fall semester on Thursday, The State newspaper reported.

"Our Student Affairs team is providing resources and support to those who may be affected by this tragedy, and we remind all of our students that help is always available to them," the university said in a statement.

Donofrio went to high school in Madison, Connecticut.