Family of UT student shot and killed getting into wrong car after a night out wants gunman’s name

TAMPA, Fla. - The family of a University of Tampa student who was shot and killed on his 19th birthday is frustrated police won't release the shooter’s name to them, citing Marsy's Law, the family's attorney said Thursday.

Ralph Fernandez, an attorney in Tampa, is representing the family of Carson Senfield, who was killed on September 17 after a night out, celebrating his birthday with friends. Fernandez believes police are misusing Marsy's Law, which was passed in 2018 and intended to protect the identities of crime victims.

"Marsy's law in no way was intended to provide cover for inconsequential events, at best, that could be characterized as crimes by the victim to protect the horrific crimes of a potential defendant," Fernandez said.

After a night out in the South Howard area of Tampa, Senfield took an Uber to his home on West Arch Street, near the University of Tampa. The circumstances that followed, however, have been a bit of a mystery.

Fernandez believes the family found a clue: Senfield's house key was on the ground near his home. They believe the teenager dropped the key, couldn't find it and was locked out, so he called another Uber to bring him to his roommate.

Carson Senfield had been out celebrating his 19th birthday with friends when he was shot getting into the wrong car. 

Fernandez said Senfield was on the phone with the roommate when he saw another car that he thought was his Uber. When he tried to get into that vehicle, the driver shot him.

"This young man was a stellar human being," said Fernandez. "How threatened can someone be by a young man who probably was acting consistent with how he had acted earlier that evening?"

RELATED: Friends crushed after University of Tampa student shot and killed over the weekend

The driver, who stayed at the scene, told detectives he feared for his life. According to police, because of that claim, they are choosing to withhold the identity of the shooter to the public and Senfield's family.

Carson Senfield's family wants to know the name of the person who shot him. 

In a statement to FOX 13, a spokesperson for the police department wrote:

"Marsy’s Law was created and approved by Florida voters to offer crime victims the right to privacy. The individual, in this case, has not wavered from his claim that he fired his gun in fear of an unknown, possibly armed adult male entering his car unexpectedly and without his consent. It is the duty of the State Attorney’s Office to review the facts of this case and ultimately determine whether or not charges will follow. Depending on the outcome, the individual’s protection under Marsy’s Law could change."

Fernandez said he's confident TPD and the state attorney's office is conducting a thorough investigation, but it's frustrating the family, who lives upstate New York and is relying on Tampa Police for answers.

"He killed somebody for no good reason and nobody knows who he is. I will find out, but not through the law enforcement circles," Fernandez said.