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ODU student watches his best friend die after being shot during Beach Week party

Posted at 5:46 PM, Apr 25, 2016
and last updated 2016-04-25 18:10:45-04

Virginia Beach, Va. - An ODU student was shot and killed during Beach Week in Virginia Beach.

Deron Tyler spoke exclusively with NewsChannel 3 about the shooting death of his friend, Darren Campell.

The ODU community is mourning after the 20-year-old student was killed. Tyler said they went over to Virginia Beach to celebrate Beach Week and were at a party that got out of control.

"He raised the gun and aimed for my friends face," said Tyler, "I was giving him chest compressions and he started to come to, but by the time he got into the ambulance he was gone."

Tyler said he was standing right next to his best friend, who he's known since 7th grade, when the shooting happened early Sunday morning.

Cops were called to the party twice on Hill Meadow Drive that night, first for a dispute and gunshots.

"It was just pandemonium.  People running around trying to escape because it's a small screen and too many people trying to get out all at once. So I went to a back room, ducked behind something covered up my head," said Kameron Davis who was dancing and heard gunshots. "I heard gunshots everyone ran around and things got crazy. There's been a lot of violence Norfolk and Virginia Beach.  I'm just kinda done with it"

Tyler said, "Dude flashed the gun and everybody in the party freaked out and the cops came.  They confirmed that the gunman was no longer on the premises and the dude convinced them that everything was good."

Tyler said the party resumed but later there was another brawl that broke out in the living room.

"There were a few guys in there with guns on them and they started waving them around or whatever to let everybody know they got them on them," said Tyler.

He said chaos broke out again and people ran into the backyard.

Tyler said he and Campbell were standing right near the back door when he saw the gun. He wasn't able to see the shooter's face because it was dark.

"He made sure that he stayed in the darkness, you could only see the gun out of the darkness--that's it," said Tyler, "When I realized that it was a gun, the flash went off and I spun around to see all my friends were still standing but Darren was slowly making his way to the floor."

Campell was a Chesterfield native and was majoring in market. He was a junior at ODU.

Tyler showed NewsChannel's his best friend’s collection of Jordan sneakers and said he loved playing video games.

He said the two of them would hang out all the time playing video games and hanging out at their apartment.

Friends say Campbell was driven, easy going and always there for a good laugh.

"I don't think that anybody could say anything bad about him.  He was always smiles and good vibes when he came around. He was a good dude," said Davis.

"Funny, laid-back, relaxed. A good friend and good company to be around," said Patrick Martin, "He was a good guy wrong place at the wrong time."

"Darren was really a good person who did not deserve anything like this," Tyler said.

No one has been arrested in connection with the shooting.