A 21-year-old Hofstra student was killed early Friday morning by a shot fired by a Nassau County policeman. Andrea Rebello was being held at gunpoint by an intruder, when she was shot once in the head by the unidentified police officer, who also killed the home intruder.

Nassau County police informed Rebello's parents on Saturday that it had been a policeman's bullet, and not the intruder's that killed their daughter. Rebello was being held by Dalton Smith, who was shot seven times by the policeman. Smith did not fire a shot.

Rebello was living off-campus from Hofstra with her twin sister and tow other roommates, when Smith entered the home in the early hours of Friday. After a roommate was able to contact auhtorities, police entered the home and found Smith holding Rebello at gunpoint, telling police he was going to kill her. When Smith turned his gun towards the police officer, the police officer opened fire."

“At that point, the police officer fires several rounds,” Detective Lt. John Azzata said at a Saturday news conference. “Seven of those rounds struck our subject; one of those rounds struck the victim.”

Thomas Dale, the Nassau County police commissioner, personally went to the home of Rebello's parents to tell them it was a police officer's gun that killed their daughter.