MIAMI – Police have confirmed that a missing Barry University student was shot to death early Saturday in Miami.
Miami Shores police spokesman David Golt said Monday that Priscilla Torres was the woman who was fatally shot in Miami's Little Havana neighborhood.
Torres, 19, was reported missing Saturday after texting a friend shortly before 4:30 a.m. that she was on her way back to her dormitory in Miami Shores, Golt said.
It turns out the same woman was found suffering from a gunshot wound near Northwest 29th Avenue and Northwest 12th Street. She was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Center, where she was pronounced dead.
Miami police released a sketch of the woman in hopes of learning her identity.
Another Barry University student who was friends with Torres told Local 10 News that one of their mutual friends had told police to look for a specific tattoo on Torres' chest that would identify her.
"I actually was really sad. I started shaking in class when I got an email, because it's very tragic," Marcella Tricomi said. "It kind of opens people's eyes to their safety and being more aware of their surroundings, especially in this area."
Friends said Torres was an athletic training major.
"You get a feeling where you're shaking in your bones. You knew this girl and she's gone," friend Jimmerial Franklin said.
Police said the vehicle in which Torres was last seen, a white Nissan Sentra with Florida tag HZBU86, has not been found.
A motive for the shooting is unknown.
"Words fail to express the shock and deep sorrow that we, her Barry family, are experiencing. However, we cannot imagine the profound heartache and anguish her parents and family members are suffering," Barry University 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. Our university counselors and campus ministry team are available to all students who may need support."
Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS.