DSU disputes crowd size at deadly off-campus party, Dover Police standby original statement

DOVER, Del. – Delaware State University publicly responding on Thursday, almost four days after a student was shot and killed at an off campus unsanctioned party in Dover.

The University issued a letter from the school’s President expressing extreme sadness over Devin Wright’s death while reminding students to be careful and accountable. In the letter, University President Dr. Tony Allen says in addition to their COVID-19 policy, which prohibits large gatherings on campus, there are also several emergency declarations that effectively make such gatherings illegal and subject to criminal penalty. He adds that they have a three level system for enforcing the policy with more serious violations leading to potential eviction from the University.

Based on police reports, 47 ABC originally reported there were between 300 and 500 people in attendance and a majority of them were DSU students. On Thursday, a University spokesperson said the number was not accurate and a majority were not DSU students. However, Dover Police says they stand by their original statement.

With the reported crowd size at that unsanctioned party, the health department said it would gather information before making any public health recommendations like COVID-19 tests for attendees. On Thursday, DSU said more than 15-thousand COVID-19 tests have been conducted and the rate of positive cases on the campus is less than half a percent.

A vigil was held on Monday for Devin Wright. Dover Police are still searching for whoever shot and killed the 20-year old.