Conn. native among wounded at UNC Charlotte shooting
The former Connecticut resident wounded in the University of North Carolina at Charlotte shooting Tuesday has been released from the hospital.
Sean DeHart, 20, a Shelton native, is expected to make a full recovery, officials said.
DeHart was one of six people shot when a gunman opened fire in an academic building, wounding four and killing two.
The students were shot while wrapping up the semester in an anthropology class when a gunman opened fire in the classroom.
One of those killed, Riley Howell, 21, of Waynesville, N.C. , was hailed a hero in the aftermath Wednesday. A runner and former soccer player, Howell charged the shooter and tackled him before being fatally wounded, said Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Kerr Putney.
A former student, Trystan Andrew Terrell, was arrested and charged with murder and attempted murder.
Native son
DeHart grew up on Waverly Drive, a winding, sometimes hilly street in a quiet section of Huntington with stately colonialstyle homes, where construction and renovations are ongoing.
DeHart’s family moved to North Carolina several years ago and are now residents of Apex, N.C. The family could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Rachel Klauser, who moved into the house next to the home where the DeHarts’ once lived, recalled them as “a super nice family .... they were wonderful neighbors.”
The young mother said the family owned a small lot next to their house where the children would play.
Another neighbor, Beverly Lauren, described DeHart as a “sweet kid.”
“I’m glad that he’s expected to recover because it was frightening,” she told WTNH-TV.
“We miss them in the neighborhood,” she said.
Baseball fan
DeHart, a New York Yankees fan, used a quote from an ailing Lou Gehrig next to his yearbook photo when he graduated in 2017 from Cardinal Gibbons High School, a Catholic prep school in Raleigh, N.C.
The quote cited by DeHart in the latter’s yearbook reads: “I might have had a tough break but I have an awful lot to live for.”