Suspects Sought In Shooting Death Of University Of Delaware Student
By Steve Beck, Oren Liebermann, Todd Quinones
NEWARK, Del. (CBS) – Police are searching for two suspects in the shooting death of a University of Delaware student late Monday night.
New Castle County Police were called at about 9:20 a.m. to the Studio Green West Apartment complex for the report of a person shot.
When they arrived, they found the victim, identified by police as 20-year-old Peter DiSabatino, unresponsive with a gunshot wound to his upper body.
DiSabatino was rushed to Christiana Hospital, but was later pronounced dead.
"Nobody deserves to die like that. Nobody deserves to have a friend die like that," said a friend of DiSabatino, Olivia Natalini.
Police say DiSabatino was standing near his apartment when the sophomore was shot and killed.
"I would really like to know what exactly happened that cost him his life. He didn't deserve anything like this," said Kyle Wilson.
Witnesses say they heard three shots. Dylan Brady tried to keep DiSabatino alive until paramedics arrived.
"I couldn't sleep last night – I keep seeing his face. I wish there was something more I could've done - even though I know we did all we can do, I still have the feeling I could have done more," said Brady.
DiSabatino's friends say he was always smiling and making everyone laugh. Natalini and her friends grew up with DiSabatino and moved to the apartment complex because of his urging.
"We all know him not to be anyone that would deserve to be shot nonetheless deserve to be robbed, deserve to be shot, deserve for any ill will to happen to him," said Natalini.
On Tuesday night, DiSabatino's parents, along with friends and family, stood just yards away from where he was gunned down. They lit candles, prayed and tried to make some sense of it all, as a father thinks about what could have been.
"I think the tragedy of this whole thing is the potential of what he could've become is now gone, and will never be repeated," Thomas DiSabatino said.
This is the same apartment complex where another University of Delaware student, Lindsay Bonsitall, was raped and murdered in 2005. Her killer was recently sentenced to death.
Now friends of DiSabatino are waiting for his killers to be captured so they can face justice too.
The suspects are described as two black males, one of which was wearing a gray-hooded sweatshirt and the other a black-hooded sweatshirt.
The circumstances surrounding the deadly shooting remain under investigation. Police say they do not believe the shooting to be random.
Anyone with information is urged to contact the New Castle County Police Department at 302.395.8110 or Crime Stoppers at 800.TIP.3333.
