(Trends Wide) — A torrent of desolation engulfs the University of Virginia (UVA), where classes have been canceled for a second day after three football players were shot to death on campus and new details emerge about the fellow accused of killing them.
A vigil drew hundreds of people on the Charlottesville campus Monday, with candles placed around the Statue of Homer along with signs reading “UVA Strong” and “1-15-41,” the uniform numbers of the players. slain UVA football, Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr. and D’Sean Perry.
A memorial honoring Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr., and D’Sean Perry features signs with the jersey numbers of the football players. Credit: Megan Smith/USA TODAY
Two other people were injured, one of them in critical condition and one in good condition, UVA spokesman Brian Coy said Monday.
The victims had just returned from a school field trip late Sunday when they were fired upon and near a school bus, authorities say. The suspect, a former UVA football player, was taken into custody the next morning; it is not clear if he was on the excursion.
The killings are among at least 68 shootings this year on school campuses across the United States, 15 of them on college campuses. The incident is also one of nearly 600 mass shootings in the United States this year in which at least four people were killed, excluding the shooter, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
The UVA shooting sparked a manhunt that lasted several hours, as students locked themselves in dorms, classrooms and libraries, before Christopher Darnell Jones Jr. was arrested Monday morning in Henrico County, about 130 kilometers east of Charlottesville.
Jones faces three counts of second-degree murder and three counts of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, UVA Police Chief Timothy Longo Sr. said.
Police have not revealed the motive for the attack.
— Virginia Cavaliers (@VirginiaSports) November 15, 2022
A wave of support, local and national, washed over Charlottesville.
Even the rival women’s basketball team Virginia Tech He wore T-shirts with the slogan “#HokiesforHoos” on Monday.
Vigil at the University of Virginia after the fatal shooting.
The suspect “repeatedly refused to cooperate” in a weapons-related investigation
Jones was the subject of a pending case with the university’s judicial council when the shooting unfolded Sunday, authorities said.
“On September 15, in the context of reviewing a possible hazing matter, UVA Student Affairs heard from a student that Mr. Jones made a comment to him about possession of a weapon,” said Coy, the spokesman for University.
That person “did not see Mr. Jones in possession of a weapon,” and the “comment about possession of a weapon was not made in connection with a threat,” Coy said.
“In the course of their investigation, University officials spoke with Mr. Jones’s roommate, who gave no indication of the presence of any weapons. In the course of their investigation, University officials discovered that Mr. Jones had previously been tried and convicted of a misdemeanor concealed weapons violation in 2021, for which he received a 12-month suspended sentence and a small fine.”
Throughout the investigation, Coy said, “Mr. Jones repeatedly refused to cooperate with University officials seeking additional information about the claims that he had a firearm and about his failure to disclose the conviction for prior misdemeanor.”
Therefore, on October 27, “the Threat Assessment Team elevated his case to the category of disciplinary action,” Coy said.
The school’s judicial council has taken up the case, and the results are pending, the university’s police chief said.
Christopher Jones was arrested Monday in connection with the shooting. Credit: Henrico County Sheriff’s Office
Jones is listed on UVA’s athletics website as a 2018 football player who did not appear in any games as a freshman.
He attended Varina High School and Petersburg High School, where he played football as a linebacker and running back, according to his college track biography.
A UVA spokesperson told Trends Wide that Jones had a pre-existing injury that prevented him from playing on the football team in 2018.
Jones underwent medical treatment and rehabilitation during his time with the team and was only a member of the team for one season, the spokesman says.
The spokesman declined to give details about Jones’ injury.
The deceased students were talented athletes
All three dead and at least one of the two injured were UVA football players.
Lavel Davis Jr. was one of the best wide receivers for the Virginia Cavaliers this season. As a 2-meter receiver, Davis represented the main deep team threatwith 16 receptions for 371 yards and two touchdowns on the year, as well as an impressive 23.2 receiving yards.
Perry, a junior linebacker, has played in 15 games over the past three seasons. On Saturday against Pittsburgh, he made two tackles in a 37-7 loss. Perry’s parents thanked his supporters for their condolences in a statement through his attorney.
A wide receiver and kick returner, Chandler had recently transferred to UVA this offseason from the University of Wisconsin, where the football program said that he was “deeply saddened” by the tragic deaths.
Devin Chandler, D’Sean Perry, and Lavel Davis Jr. were killed in a shooting on the main campus of the University of Virginia.
“This is a difficult time for the players and staff due to the lasting impact Devin had on his friends and teammates,” a statement read. “Our thoughts are with his family, his friends and the Virginia soccer family.”
Student Michael Hollins was injured, according to the head football coach at University Lab School in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Hollins is a junior running back for UVA, according to the team’s roster.
Hollins is expected to recover after being shot in the back with the bullet lodged in his stomach, his father, Michael Hollins Sr., told The Washington Post. The family did not immediately respond to Trends Wide’s request for comment.
Hollins was scheduled to graduate in December with a bachelor’s degree in entrepreneurship and African-American history, her father told the newspaper.
Authorities have not named the other injured victim.
— Dakin Andone, Michelle Watson, Carolyn Sung, Christina Zdanowicz, Eric Levenson, and Caroll Alvarado contributed reporting.
