A 19-year-old College Football player was shot dead in Florida over the weekend. He was reportedly visiting his family for Mother’s Day.
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According to a report by Florida Today, Nathaniel Bernard Jennings, 19, was shot dead outside a popular nightspot in Downtown Melbourne. The incident occurred on Sunday at around 1:50 AM near Vernon Place and New Haven Avenue. Authorities reportedly caught the altercation on nearby security cameras.
Per the Daily Mail, Jennings, who also went by Nate, played the defensive lineman position for the University of Northwestern, St. Paul. His mother, Autumn Minick, reportedly confirmed he recently transferred to West Liberty University.
Jennings got into an argument, which escalated into a shooting. The suspected shooter, 24-year-old Stephan Dieujuste, reportedly claimed he acted in self-defense. Jennings and Dieujuste both grew up in Palm Bay, although it’s unknown if or how the pair knew each other. In an interview, Melbourne Police Commander Shawn Eising explained that officers responded to a report of gunshots in the area. They found Jennings lying on the ground with what they believed to be gunshot wounds. Authorities assisted the victim at the scene and transported him to a hospital, where doctors pronounced him deceased.
Police Are Charging The Suspect With Manslaughter
Eising says the crime scene was a parking lot, and they found Dieujuste nearby. Officers took him into custody, interviewed him, and determined “the actions he took were unreasonable.” The police chief said, “It appears their interactions were completely out in the street or on the sidewalk. We’ve not developed any knowledge that they had an interaction in any of our establishments downtown.” The events before the shooting remain unclear, and it’s unknown what caused the altercation between the two men.
Florida Today explains that Melbourne Police charged Dieujuste with manslaughter. Authorities took him into custody at the Brevard County Jail Complex. He was due in court on Monday for a bond hearing. Per WESH 2, University of Northwestern football coach Matt Moore said, “Nate was a treasured member of our football team, being honored with all-conference accolades following his first year of collegiate competition. For as talented as Nate was on the football field, he was an even better person off of it.”