Authorities in Florida have charged a former student-athlete after he fatally shot a college football star who was visiting home for Mother’s Day weekend.
Per Florida Today, authorities said the fatal incident happened outside a popular nightspot in Downtown Melbourne in the wee hours of May 11. The suspect, identified as 24-year-old Stephan Dieujuste, is said to have shot and killed the victim, Nathaniel Bernard Jennings, 19, during an argument.
Jennings was a football player for the University of Northwestern in Minnesota, and Dieujuste was a former basketball player for Eastern Florida State College. In the aftermath of the shooting, Melbourne police said Dieujuste told detectives that he acted in self-defense.
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The relationship between Jennings and Dieujuste could not be established. City officials, however, said that surveillance cameras around the location captured the shooting.
Jennings was later pronounced dead after officers who arrived at the scene found him in an unresponsive state. “It is an active investigation,” Melbourne Police Department spokesperson Lt. Bradley Blount said.
Authorities at the time of this report could not establish why the two men got into the said altercation. “It’s an unfortunate situation,” Melbourne Mayor Paul Alfrey said, per Florida Today.
Dieujuste has since been charged with manslaughter, and authorities detained him at the Brevard County Jail Complex in Sharpes. His bond hearing was scheduled to take place on Monday, May 12.
“Nate was a treasured member of our football team, being honored with all-conference accolades following his first year of collegiate competition,” the University of Northwestern head football coach, Matt Moore, said in a statement, per WESH2.
“For as talented as Nate was on the football field, he was an even better person off of it. His contagious energy and positivity will be missed. We are praying for Nate’s mother, Autumn, brother Isaiah, and other members of his extended family during this difficult time.”
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