Delaware
Family of Camay Mitchell De Silva, Delaware State shooting victim, speaks out:
WILMINGTON, Del. (CBS) – Four days after the unthinkable happened, the family of Camay Mitchell De Silva came together to speak out.
The 18-year-old Concord High School graduate died after she was shot on the campus of Delaware State University early Sunday morning.
“In 18 years of her life, she gave us a lot,” her grandfather Martin De Silva said.
Her family said she was a light in this world dimmed much too soon.
“We want to see her come through that door. Reality is that she’s not,” Martin De Silva said.
“Camay was my first born and honestly my best friend,” her mother Shanelle De Silva said.
Diligent, funny and at times feisty – Camay Mitchell De Silva’s mother, grandfather and aunt are holding tight onto memories of the person they affectionately called “May May.”
“We also called her ‘Auntie May’ because she took care of all the little ones,” her aunt Charlotte De Silva Davis added. Shanelle De Silva said she called her daughter, “Lady Bug.”
Sitting in the living room of their Wilmington home, the family was still trying to process what happened over the weekend. Together they shared pieces of Camay Mitchell De Silva’s life, their hope for justice and how they plan on carrying on her legacy.
“Camay never ceased to impress me. Like my family said, reading young, walking, talking, just everything she did, she did it early and maybe that was just a way to know she wasn’t going to be here as long as we wanted her to be here,” Shanelle De Silva said about her daughter.
Camay Mitchell De Silva’s family said she was at DSU visiting her best friend when the shooting happened. The plan for her was to enroll at the school this fall with dreams of one day working in the cybersecurity world.
“I wish she would’ve made it that day. She could’ve come home and tell me another one of her stories,” Charlotte De Silva Davis said through tears.
Since the beginning of the investigation, Dover police said the 18-year-old was an innocent bystander. On Thursday, the department said it is “still making good progress” in the investigation.
Her loved ones are praying justice comes soon.
“You just took someone that had nothing to do with what you had going on, so anybody who knows anything, the person who did this, just please come forward,” Shanelle De Silva said.
Standing alongside the family was Bishop Jeffery Broughton Sr., who said he is spiritual support for the family.
“This is a seat that no one wants to sit in. To see the pain, to see the sorrow,” Broughton said. “Let’s stop the violence. Let’s not cause another Camay to be in another family, but let’s all stand up, let’s say something and if you know something, please reach out to the authorities and let them know.”
Her mother said Camay was a cheerleader who excelled in school. The family also remembers her as a “techie,” often fixing whatever was broken in the house, such as a remote or a computer.
“You’d think she made the device,” her grandfather said.
Family was most important to Camay, though. It was part of the reason she came back home after briefly attending Morgan State University in Baltimore.
The family sat down for dinner together every Sunday. They just didn’t know her last one would be so soon.
“She came in the kitchen and she said, ‘Bye Nini, I love you!’ and she kissed me on the cheek and it was a different goodbye,” Charlotte De Silva Davis said. That moment was on April 14 – a week before her death.
It was easy to see just how loved Camay Mitchell De Silva was. On Wednesday night, at least 100 people came together for a vigil. Together they released balloons into the area and set up a candle memorial spelling out her name.
Plans are still coming together for Camay Mitchell De Silva’s services. Her family said it will be New Jersey because she was born there and spent part of her childhood there. They said it was a place she simply loved.
“This family, together we’re going to build something that will let the world know her or care to know about her because we want her name to live on,” Martin De Silva said. He later added, “We’re going to make sure that name becomes endless.”
This story originally appeared on 6abc.
A beached whale was spotted along the shore in Delaware on Sunday.
The animal was discovered at approximately 11 a.m. after reportedly beaching itself near the Indian River Inlet Bridge.
A representative of the Marine Education, Research, and Rehabilitation Institute said the whale is a sub-adult fin whale.
The whale is roughly 50 feet in length and is extremely emaciated, according to the MERR rep, which may indicate an underlying condition.
Fin whales are an off-shore, deep-sea species that would not typically come near the shore unless they are weak, according to MERR.
Sadly, the representative said the whale was likely very close to dying.
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Pike Creek Republican state Rep. Mike Ramone says he won’t seek reelection to the House of Representatives this year, opting to run for Delaware governor, instead.
Ramone announced his intentions to run in the First State’s gubernatorial race during an interview with a Delmarva radio talk show on Friday, explaining that he plans to file his candidacy on Monday.
Ramone in a news release from the House Republican Caucus sent out Friday announced the Republican incumbent would not seek reelection to the 21st District seat in November.
Ramone, who currently serves as the House Minority Leader, expects to relocate downstate, which would prevent him from retaining the seat. Plus, the release stated, Ramone expects to run for governor.
“I was uncomfortable seeking a new House term under those circumstances,” he said in the release. “While I am excited to kick off a new venture in the coming days, I will certainly miss directly serving the citizens of the 21st District.”
DELAWARE GOVERNOR’S RACE: GOP chair says she’ll run, setting up a Republican primary race
Ramone’s intentions to run for governor on the Republican line sets up a three-way primary for the ticket in September. Delaware GOP chair Julianne Murray says she will run for state governor and intends to file May 8. Meanwhile, Republican gubernatorial candidate Jerrold Price is on the ballot having filed his candidacy for the seat in December 2023.
The future of the 21st District
Ramone, who was first elected to the seat in 2008, narrowly won his reelection in 2022.
Two Democratic candidates are vying for the seat: Michael Smith, a former legislative aide and substitute teacher – not to be confused with Michael F. Smith, who is the District 22 representative, and Frank Burns, a climate activist and biotech entrepreneur who unsuccessfully challenged Ramone in 2022.
DELAWARE GENERAL ASSEMBLY: What seats are up for election? Races take shape
Along with serving as the House minority leader, Ramone sits on the administration, ethics, rules, legislative council and veterans affairs committees.
Ramone thanked his constituents for allowing him to serve them for the past 16 years.
“Your support over the years has meant the world to Lisa and me,” he said. “My family is forever grateful to each of you.”
The race for Delaware governor
The Republican contenders for governor will face one of three Democratic candidates for governor in the general election Nov. 5.
Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long, New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer and former Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control Secretary Collin O’Mara are all vying for the Democratic line.
ELECTION ISSUES: Rev. Al Sharpton returns to Delaware to rally voters, demand a more diverse court system
The Democratic candidates as well as the only filed Republican candidate for governor, Price, have been invited to a gubernatorial forum on Delaware’s education system hosted by Vision Coalition of Delaware at 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 8, at Polytech High School near Woodside. This is the first event featuring the gubernatorial candidates to be held in Delaware.
Got a tip? Contact Amanda Fries at afries@delawareonline.com. Follow her on X at @mandy_fries.
LAUREL, Del. – A single-vehicle crash that claimed the life of one man Saturday evening is now under investigation.
According to police, at 6:48 p.m., a Chevy Trailblazer was headed westbound on Sharptown Road, traveling at high speed. The vehicle swerved off the north side of the road, striking a drainage ditch and overturning before crashing into a utility pole.
The driver, identified as a 27-year-old man from Bloxom, Virginia, was pronounced dead at the scene. His identity is being withheld pending notification of his family.
There was also a male passenger in the car who was transported to a local hospital and remains in critical condition. The passenger has still not been identified.
The roadway at the location of the incident on Sharptown Road, west of Mt. Pleasant Road, was closed for roughly four hours while authorities investigated the scene and cleared the roadway.
Delaware State Police Troop 7 Collision Reconstruction Unit continues to investigate the incident. Troopers ask anyone who witnessed this crash to contact Master Corporal K. Argo at 302-703-3264.
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