South Florida

Police Search For Killer of South Florida College Student as University Mourns

What to Know

  • Priscilla Torres, a 19-year-old freshman student at Barry University in Miami Shores, was found shot around 5 a.m. on Saturday morning.
  • Miami Police responded to a call of shots being fired near NW 29th Avenue and 11th Street, rushing the female victim to the hospital.
  • After being reported missing by her mother this weekend, police and the school confirmed that the victim of that shooting was in fact Torres

Miami Police are searching for whoever opened fire on a college student this weekend in the Little Havana neighborhood.

Priscilla Torres, a 19-year-old freshman student at Barry University in Miami Shores, was found shot around 5 a.m. on Saturday morning, shortly after she texted a friend that she was driving back to her dorm.

Miami Police responded to a call of shots being fired near NW 29th Avenue and 11th Street, rushing the female victim to Jackson Memorial Hospital where she later died.

Police are still looking for the vehicle she was last seen driving, a white Nissan Sentra with the tag number HZBU86.

Police said a burnt car matching the description of Torres' was spotted in Miami Gardens Tuesday night.

After being reported missing by her mother this weekend, police and the school confirmed early Monday that the victim of that shooting was in fact Torres.

Fellow students on campus jarred by the news.

“We spoke for like 30 minutes, and she said she had to go see her best friend. That was it,” said Roberto, a student at Barry University, “In hindsight, if I could have done anything to let her stay, I would’ve.”

“I think it’s awful. Very sad. She’s so young and I feel awful for her family and she was like really sweet but quiet,” said Legacy Brooks, a student at Barry University.

Family friends in Naples said it was awful to hear the news that Torres had lost her life.

"She used to come over to my house and she was so sweet. You know and her mom was so good. I really liked Priscilla," one friend told NBC 6 by phone. "This is really an awful thing to find out.”

The school issued a statement about the "deep sorrow" they are experiencing, while offering counseling services to students or instructors that need them.

"We cannot imagine the profound heartache and anguish her parents and family members are suffering," school president, Sister Linda Bevilacqua, said in a statement. "As we mourn the tragic death of our student, we offer sympathy, prayers and comfort to her family, friends, classmates, faculty and everyone who loved her and shared her young life."

Anyone with any information in the case is asked to call Miami Police or Miami-Dade CrimeStoppers.

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