UVA shooting victims include D'Sean Perry (L), Lavel Davis Jr. (Center), and Devin Chandler. (Credit: University of Virginia Football)
On Nov. 13, three football players at the University of Virginia were gunned down on campus. Another student, a former UVA football player, was arrested in the triple murder.
School officials said that three players were fatally shot and two others were wounded in the incident at the school’s main campus in Charlottesville as a bus returned from a class field trip. The attack happened on a bus returning from a class trip to Washington, DC, where the class had seen a play, university officials said.
Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr., and D’Sean Perry were the three students killed, university President Jim Ryan said. Two wounded students were treated at UVA Medical Center, with one in critical condition and the other in good condition.
UVA Police Chief Timothy Longo Sr. says Christopher Darnell Jones Jr. faces three charges of second-degree murder and three counts of using a handgun in the commission of a felony. He was arrested without incident after a brief manhunt.
It was not known if Jones was part of that class or attended the field trip, CNN reported.
Police have not offered a motive for the attack.
“This is a sad, shocking, and tragic day for our UVA community,” Ryan said. “Let me say how deeply sorry I am for the victims and for their family and friends.”
“These were incredible young men with huge aspirations and extremely bright futures. Our hearts ache for their families, their classmates, and their friends. These precious young men were called away too soon,” Tony Elliot, UVA head football coach, said in a statement. “We are all fortunate to have them be a part of our lives. They touched us, inspired us, and worked incredibly hard as representatives of our program, university, and community.”
Jones was listed as a freshman running back on the team’s 2018 roster on UVA’s athletics website, and according to his roster bio, he previously played at Petersburg High School and Varina High School in Virginia, ESPN reported. While in high school, Jones was Key Club president and a member of the National Honor Society and the National Technical Honor Society, the bio says.
A UVA spokesperson told CNN Jones had a pre-existing injury that stopped him from playing on the football team in 2018.
School shootings continue to plague the country. So fate this year, there has been at least 68 shootings on U.S. school grounds, including 15 on college campuses, CNN reported.
UVA shooting victims include D’Sean Perry (L), Lavel Davis Jr. (Center), and Devin Chandler. All three played football at UVA. (Credit: University of Virginia Football)
