(Updates) Boca Police Investigating Fatal Shooting at University Park Apartments – One Dead

Police say one person shot, still looking for shooter.

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University Park under construction [Image by Google Maps]

Patrick Martin, News Editor

Update (1/12, 11:18 a.m.): Boca Raton Police have arrested a second person in connection to the shooting death of FAU student Nicholas Acosta on Dec. 29, 2015.

Rodrick Demetrius Woods, 23, of Miami Gardens was arrested in Miami Dade County on Monday. He is charged with first degree murder and robbery with a firearm, according to the Boca Raton Police.

Donovan Malik Henry was the first person arrested in connection with the shooting and he is charged with first degree murder and robbery with a firearm, according to Boca Raton Police.

The investigation into the telephone records of Donovan Malik Henry revealed multiple numbers on the day of the shooting. One of the numbers was registered to Woods, who fit the physical description of one of the suspects caught on surveillance after the shooting, according to a news release.

Video footage showed a distinctive tattoo on Woods’ arm and phone records place Woods at the University Park Complexes during the time of the shooting, the release states. A cooperating witness identified Woods from video surveillance.

He is being held without bond at the Palm Beach County Jail, according to the jail’s website.

The investigation is ongoing and additional charges may be forthcoming. If you have information about this crime, please call Detective Scott Hanley or Palm Beach County Crime Stoppers at (800) 458-TIPS.

Mugshot courtesy of Palm Beach Police Department.
Mugshot courtesy of Palm Beach Police Department.

Update (7:25 p.m.):

Police made an arrest in the shooting death of an FAU student, according to a news release.

Donovan Malik Henry, 19, of Miramar was arrested in Miami Gardens and charged with first degree murder and robbery with a firearm. Henry was on the FAU soccer team according to FAU athletics. Henry is the first of five suspects at large, according to the Boca Raton Police Department.

Donovan Henry
Via FAU Athletics

In a press release sent at noon on Wednesday, the deceased was identified as Nicholas Max Acosta.

Public information officer Mark Economou says Acosta was a student at Florida Atlantic University. Acosta, 19, was shot dead on Tuesday, with at least two gunshot wounds in his torso.

Police expect Thursday to continue searching for the shooters, according to Economou.

Anisa Chick, a sophomore who lives in the complex, said this is the first times she’s heard of an incident like the shooting happening there.

“Initially I thought UPark was a pretty safe place for the students to live but now I definitely feel like the comfort of living there and being safe has decreased,” she said.

This is the first homicide of 2015, according to police spokesman Mark Economou

Boca police officers were at the apartments within three minutes of the call and found a man with at least two gunshot wounds in his torso, according to the Boca police. The man was transported to Delray Medical Center, where he was later pronounced dead.

According to a Facebook post, police are looking for five people associated with the shooting, and it is not confirmed if this incident was drug related.

The Boca Raton Police Department posted this status to their Facebook page. [Screen shot of Boca Raton Police Services Department Facebook Page]

An alert was sent out to avoid the area around 135 N.W. 20th Street on Tuesday at 7:45 p.m. through the Nixle, a notification service for local police departments, county emergency management offices, municipal governments and their agencies.

A tweet from their account confirmed suspects are still at large. Police say this was not a random crime and they are searching for at least five suspects. Residents of the University Park Apartment Complex were allowed back into the building just before 11 p.m. on Tuesday.

The Boca Raton Police spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment. The department released a description of the suspects.

Suspect 1:

Black male, 18-20 years old

Tall, thin

Blue T-shirt with a white owl on it

Gray sweatpants

Suspect 2:

Black male, 18-22 years old

Heavyset/tattoo on bicep/elbow

Gray hoodie/gray sweatpants

Suspect 3:

Black male, 18-20 years old

Hoodie/camouflage hat/black shoes

Suspect 4:

Black male, 18-20 years old

Wearing all black

Suspect 5:

Black male, 18-20 years old

Green hoodie and pants/high-top sneakers

Editor-in-chief Emily Bloch contributed reporting for this story.

Patrick Martin is the news editor of the University Press. For tips regarding this or other articles he can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter.