Police, family and friends of a Chico State student who was shot and killed Friday night outside the front door of his Hazel Street home, are baffled by the lack of witnesses to the homicide.
Junior Christopher Wallace Herrmann, 22, was pronounced dead at Enloe Medical Center with a single gunshot wound to the head, said Sgt. Dave Barrow of Chico police.
"There were no witnesses," Barrow said. "You'd think people would hear the shots and go outside to investigate. He was found by a friend who came over to visit him, not by someone who came outside to investigate."
This is what has Herrmann's ex-girlfriend Laura Oustin angry. She said she doesn't understand how such a crowded neighborhood wouldn't have any witnesses to Herrmann's death.
"That it happened at 8:30 at night in a popular neighborhood doesn't make any sense," Oustin said. "It all doesn't make any sense."
Barrow said drugs were found inside the home but that the homicide did not appear to be a home invasion. He also said there is nothing to confirm reports they've received that Herrmann was a drug dealer or had any connection with the recent burglaries in the south campus neighborhood.
"We really don't have a motive for this," Barrow said.
But Chico State senior Jeff Oji said it was no secret that Herrmann was into drugs. Oji has known Herrmann since the two attended Christian Brothers High School in Sacramento and said he hadn't heard about the shooting until Monday night. Oji said he thinks the shooting was drug-related.
"I'm not shocked as to why he was shot," Oji said. "I knew he was pretty into drugs. I'm shocked as to how he was shot."
Barrow said it appeared that the shooter had gone to Herrmann's home intending to shoot him. Herrmann was found lying right outside of his front door by a friend who arrived 15 minutes after talking to him on the phone, Barrow said.
Police have interviewed several people who heard the shot and are working on leads that have developed from calls into the police station. Anyone with information regarding the shooting is asked to call Chico police at 895-4911.
Steve White said he heard the shot from his Hazel Street home, a couple houses from Herrmann's.
"We thought it was a firecracker," said White, a Butte College student.
White said it wasn't until police cars showed up and the street was blocked off that he realized exactly what he had heard.
The street remained blocked off until 4 a.m. as crime scene investigators examined evidence, Barrow said.
White said the last thing he thought of was that a gun produced the "pop" he heard Friday night.
"We didn't even think twice about it," White said. "Maybe because it's downtown Chico."
But Oustin, who dated Herrmann on and off for three years, said she can't believe that the caring man she loved is gone.
Oustin, a junior at Chico State, said it's only just beginning to sink in. She said she admired the business major most for his family values.
"He's the greatest guy I ever met," she said Monday night while fighting back tears. "The reality just hit me. He wouldn't hurt a fly. I don't understand why this happened."
Oustin said Herrmann enjoyed playing sports like basketball and wanted to run his own business when he graduated.
"He always wanted to make lots of money," she said. "He did really well in school and was always doing homework. And he loved his family; he was really close to his parents."
Herrmann's father said it was uncommon for him to go more than a couple of days without a phone call from his only son.
He said he had a good conversation with his son three days before the shooting.
"He usually called me when he walked home from classes," said Richard Herrmann, who lives in Sacramento. "He called like five times a week. We're very close."
Their whole family is close, Richard said.
"We have a huge family," he said. "He was with us at Thanksgiving dinner. There were 38 (of us)."
Herrmann was taking a full course-load this semester and nearing graduation, said Joe Wills, the director of public affairs at Chico State.
"He was excited about some of the things he was doing in class -- real hands-on things," Richard said. "He was much more enthusiastic about it."
Herrmann's uncle and aunt live in Chico, which is one of the reasons he chose to enroll at Chico State in 1999 as a pre-business major.
"Being close to his family is important," Richard said.
This is one reason the family is inviting anyone who wishes to attend Herrmann's funeral at 10 a.m. on Saturday at Sacred Heart Church in Sacramento.
As for Richard, he said, "I'm taking it one minute at a time."
Melody Gutierrez can be reached at managingeditor@orion-online.net
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