Fil-Am student shot dead after trying to enter wrong apartment

A Fil-Am university student was shot to death when he accidentally tried to enter the wrong apartment after a night of drinking.

Stephen Guillermo

Stephen Guillermo, 26, apparently pushed the wrong floor number on the elevator in his San Francisco apartment building early on Saturday morning, getting out on the third floor instead of the fifth, his family told SFGate.

When Guillermo went into the unit in the same location as his two floors above, he was allegedly shot and killed by its owner, 68-year-old Amisi Sudi Kachepa.

Kachepa, who surrendered to police, reportedly told investigators that he blamed Guillermo for breaking the knob on the door of his unit, which was missing on Saturday.

But Guillermo’s brother Marc, who also shared the fifth-floor apartment, said he couldn’t understand what happened.

“He’s not aggressive or violent,” Marc Guillermo said. “He’s a quiet person.”

Sharmaine Guerrero

He said Stephen was studying international business at San Francisco State University, and worked as a driver and shoe salesman. He also hoped to join the US Foreign Service.

Stephen’s sister, Sharrmaine Guillermo, said her brother did not become hostile when he drank.

“It just doesn’t fit,” she said. “Stephen is not the kind of guy who would do that.”

Police said Guillermo was pronounced dead at the scene.

Meanwhile, Kachepa was temporarily released and was not charged of any crime pending investigation.

In the California Penal Code, there's a specific section which protects people who -- if they are in their own home, if they're in reasonable fear of imminent danger by great bodily injury or death -- then they have the right to defend themselves. --Source: CBS News/KTVU