Devin Chandler, D'Sean Perry and Lavel Davis Jr. were killed in a shooting on the University of Virginia main campus.
Update: Suspect in fatal UVA shooting in custody; names of victims released
The suspect in Sunday night’s fatal shooting at the University of Virginia is in custody and a shelter-in-place on grounds has been lifted. The arrest took place around 11 a.m. Monday in Henrico County, where the sheriff’s office was already on the lookout for the vehicle he was believed to be driving.
University of Virginia President James Ryan speaks at a press conference announcing the names of three victims of an overnight shooting at the University of Virginia.
Three football players were killed and two more people were injured following a shooting at the University of Virginia on late Sunday night, campus police and university president Jim Ryan confirmed early Monday.
The suspected shooter, Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., is in police custody after a manhunt that lasted more than 12 hours and included a campus wide lockdown order.
Jones, who was a student at the university as of Monday morning, as well as a former football player, faces three charges of second-degree murder and three counts of using a handgun in the commission of a felony, UVA Police Chief Timothy Longo told reporters during a press conference.
The shooting occurred around 10:30 p.m. ET on a charter bus full of students returning from a field trip to see a play, the university president said in a press conference.
Police say the three victims, who are all juniors and members of UVA's football team, were found dead on the scene: Devin Chandler, a wide receiver from Virginia Beach, Va.; Lavel Davis, a wide receiver from Dorchester, S.C.; and D'Sean Perry, a linebacker from Miami, Fla.
University officials have not yet released the names of two additional victims who are being treated for injuries; one is in critical condition.
Students and staff sheltered in place for roughly 12 hours
"This is an unimaginably sad day for our community," Ryan said. "The entire university community is grieving this morning. My heart is broken for the victims and their families and for all who knew and loved them."
Classes and extra-curricular activities were canceled Monday, and public transportation routes to campus were suspended. Public schools in the surrounding Albemarle County were also closed for the day.
A campus-wide shelter-in-place order was lifted just after 10:30 a.m. ET after an extensive search of the grounds.
Jones was apprehended "without incident" in a suburb of Richmond, Va., roughly 76 miles southeast from the university, according a press release from the local police department.
UVA Police Chief Tim Longo said Jones will be charged with three counts of second-degree murder and three counts of using a handgun to commit a felony.
Jones, who is a student at the university, was listed on the university's athletics website as a football player in 2018, but did not appear in any games.
Longo said Jones had previously come to the attention of campus police because he'd been involved in a hazing incident.
Police closed the investigation after witnesses refused to cooperate, Longo said, but discovered Jones had violated a concealed weapons rule while outside the city of Charlottesville in February 2021.
The Biden administration calls for tighter gun control
Tributes to Chandler, Davis and Perry poured in on social media on Monday. UVA football players and coaches described shock, outrage and heartbreak while sharing images and stories of the men.
Jack Hamilton, a UVA professor who said Chandler and Davis were both students of his, described the former as "an unbelievably nice person, always a huge smile, really gregarious and funny. One of those people who's just impossible not to like."
Davis went out of his way to make friends with non-athletes and was well-liked by many of his fellow students, Hamilton wrote.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre issued a statement offering President Biden's "deepest condolences" to the "countless families, friends and neighbors grieving for those killed as well as those injured in this senseless shooting."
"We need to enact an assault weapons ban to get weapons of war off of America's streets," Pierre wrote in reference to a bill that passed in the House of Representatives this July but doesn't appear to stand a chance of overcoming a filibuster in the Senate.
UVA officials had not yet released information on the type of weapon used in Sunday's shooting.
UVA is at least the second university to report student deaths this weekend
On Sunday, police in Moscow, Idaho, said that four University of Idaho students were found dead in a home near the campus. Police investigating the incident have called the deaths suspected homicides.
"The Moscow Police Department gives our heartfelt condolences to family members, friends and the Moscow community," police said in a statement.
Source: kosu.org
In a statement, Virginia football coach Tony Elliott said his team is experiencing "devastation and heartache."
"I cannot find the words to express the devastation and heartache that our team is feeling today after the tragic events last night that resulted in the deaths of Lavel, D'Sean and Devin, and the others who were injured," Elliott said in the statement. "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. 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. Rest in peace, young men."
Cavaliers athletic director Carla Williams also issued a statement and offered prayers for the families of the students.
"As a mother of three children, I ache for the parents and family members," Williams said. "We lost three talented and bright young men. We will never see what their impact on the world would have been, but we will never forget their impact on us. I miss Lavel, D'Sean and Devin. I pray for peace, comfort and hope for their parents and loved ones. For their teammates, coaches and friends, I pray for strength and a peace that surpasses all understanding."
Ryan said the students had traveled to Washington, D.C., on Sunday to attend a play as part of a class field trip. Longo said the students enjoyed a meal together and then "someone amongst them chose to do an act of violence."
About 13 minutes into the 20-minute news conference Monday, Longo was interrupted by another law-enforcement official and told that Jones had been apprehended. After announcing the arrest, Longo paused briefly.
"I just need a moment to thank God and breathe a sigh of relief," Longo told reporters.
Jones' father, Chris Jones Sr., told Richmond TV station WTVR he was in disbelief after getting a call from police on Monday.
"My heart goes out to their families. I don't know what to say, except I'm sorry, on his behalf, and I apologize,'' he said.
The UVA Police Department had tweeted earlier Monday morning that it was looking for Jones regarding the shooting, which occurred in a parking garage on campus around 10:30 p.m. ET Sunday. The tweet included the same photograph of Jones that was used for his Virginia football bio online.
Ryan confirmed in a message to the community at 4 a.m. ET Monday that three people were killed and two others were injured. Ryan wrote that "one of our students, Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., is suspected to have committed the shooting."
At 10:33 a.m. ET, a shelter-in-place order was lifted on the Virginia campus, after a "thorough search on and around" the campus, according to a tweet by the UVA Police Department.
Longo said during the news conference that the university's multi-disciplinary threat assessment team in September was notified by someone that Jones had made a comment about having a gun on campus. Longo said the person, who was not affiliated with the university, had never seen the gun.
"The comment about Mr. Jones owning a gun was not made in conjunction with any threats," Longo said.
Longo said the office of student affairs contacted the person who reported Jones' comments about the gun and attempted to speak with Jones.
Jones' roommate told the university that he had not seen a weapon, Longo said.
The university later learned that Jones had been charged with misdemeanor concealed weapons charges outside Charlottesville in February 2021. He was required to report the criminal charges to the university but failed to do so. Longo said the university had taken administrative charges through the judiciary council against Jones and the case was still pending.
"I thought it important to share that information with you," Longo said during the news conference. "To let you know that he had been called to our attention and to answer any questions you might have about that. I want you to hear that from me and not hear it from someone else."
Longo said Jones was also the subject of a hazing investigation, but the case was closed because witnesses would not cooperate with the process.
Davis had 16 catches for 371 yards and two touchdowns this season. As a freshman in 2020, he caught 20 passes for 515 yards and five TDs, averaging 25.8 yards per catch. He did not play during the 2021 season because of a knee injury that required surgery.
"Saddening, saddening news this morning," Newberry College assistant coach Sean Lampkin, a cousin of Davis', posted to Twitter on Monday. "God took one of his most kind, humble, loving soldiers off of the battlefield last night. Please pray for my family as we are devastated by the passing of my cousin Lavel Davis Jr."
Said Davis' father, Lavel Davis Sr., in a Facebook post: "Lord please help me."
Perry had five tackles in three games this season, including two in the loss Saturday to Pitt. He had an 84-yard interception return for a touchdown during his freshman season in 2020.
Chandler had not appeared in a game this season after transferring from Wisconsin. He caught two passes for 28 yards as a freshman and had a 59-yard kickoff return in the Duke's Mayo Bowl for the Badgers in 2020.
"Once a badger, always a badger,'' University of Wisconsin interim head coach Jim Leonhard posted to Twitter on Monday in the wake of Chandler's death. "He had a lasting impact on his teammates, even after he left UW, which is a testament to the type of person he was. His personality was infectious and he was a joy to be around. Our team is hurting for him and his family.''
"Although we do not yet have a full understanding of the motive and circumstances surrounding these events, police are investigating as we speak," Ryan said during the news conference Monday.
"This is an unimaginably sad day for our community. The entire university community is grieving this morning. My heart is broken for the victims and their families and for all those who knew and loved them, and they are all in my prayers. As I've said before, when I see our students, I see my own kids, and I cannot imagine anything worse for a parent than losing a child."
Thousands of Virginia students and community members gathered Monday night for a vigil on the South Lawn of campus. After walking to the center of the lawn together and sitting down for a 15-minute moment of silence, a group of students that included Cavaliers football players walked to the front of the crowd. Everyone else stood and pointed their candles and cell phones toward the group, which stood on the steps of Old Cabell Hall.
The men's basketball matchup Monday between Northern Iowa and Virginia was canceled, as were classes and other academic activities scheduled for Tuesday.
The Virginia Tech women's basketball team showed support for Virginia by wearing warm-up shirts honoring the victims of Sunday's shooting.
Source: ESPN
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