During a Mother’s Day weekend return to his hometown in Florida, a former collegiate basketball player is accused of shooting and killing a great college football player.
At approximately 1:50 a.m. on Saturday, Nathaniel Bernard Jennings, 19, was shot and killed in Downtown Melbourne after allegedly arguing with suspect Stephan Dieujuste, 24 near the Neon Rodeo pub.
When Melbourne Police and Fire Rescue arrived on the site, they discovered Jennings, a University of Northwestern, St. Paul freshman defensive lineman, unconscious.
After being taken to a nearby hospital, he was pronounced dead.
When authorities questioned Dieujuste, a former point player for Eastern Florida State College, he stated that the shooting was self-defense.
After being detained, the former collegiate basketball player was accused of manslaughter. The Brevard County Jail Complex is where he is being kept at the moment.
According to local officials who spoke to Florida Today, the incident was seen on recently installed downtown security cameras.
What caused the two men to argue is still being looked into by the police.
It’s also unclear whether Dieujuste, a Bayside High School alumnus, and Jennings, a Heritage High School alumnus, knew one another.
Lt. Bradley Blount, a spokesman for the Melbourne Police Department, told Florida Today that the investigation is still ongoing.
Matt Moore, the University of Northwestern’s head football coach, praised Jenning’s character both on and off the field in a statement following the news of the outstanding defense lineman’s passing.
“Nate was a treasured member of our football team, being honored with all-conference accolades following his first year of collegiate competition,” Moore stated.
“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.”
The budding college football standout has 5.5 sacks, 13 tackles for loss, one fumble recovery, and 55 total tackles at the end of his freshman season at Northwestern.
According to city crime statistics, Jennings’ death is the first homicide in Melbourne this year. Additionally, it is just the second murder to occur in the downtown area in the last two years.
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According to Randy Bennett, a bar owner who has operated in the downtown area for almost ten years, the shooting took place in front of the establishment next to his, and his employees were at work when the “whole thing went down.”
Bennett said, “Downtown is lovely, it’s safe, and people don’t have their belongings stolen.” “Instead of buying each other a beer, a couple decided to take matters into their own hands in this isolated incident.”
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Linda Bouley, a local, said, “Very upsetting because this is a nice place to come.”
“I’m glad they found the [suspect]. It doesn’t really give me relief because it’s like why did this happen? Why is a 19-year-old getting shot? Why does somebody have a gun out here where this is supposed to be an area that you just come to enjoy yourself.”
According to court documents, Dieujuste was ordered to be jailed without bond during his first court appearance on Monday.
June 5 is the date of his upcoming court appearance.
