Shooting at University of Virginia Leaves 3 Dead, 2 Injured
- By Matt Jones
- Nov 14, 2022
Update: 2:30 p.m. CT
National news reports that three university football players were killed in a shooting at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Va., on Sunday night. The suspect, 22-year-old Chris Darnell Jones, was taken into custody on Monday morning after an overnight manhunt involving multiple law-enforcement agencies, according to UVA Emergency Management.
The three victims were wide receiver Devin Chandler from Virginia Beach, Va.; wide receiver Lavel Davis from Dorchester, S.C.; and linebacker D’Sean Perry from Miami, Fla., according to NPR. All three were juniors.
NPR also reports that the university has yet to release the names of two more individuals who were injured in the attack, one of whom remains in critical condition.
University president Jim Ryan said in a press conference that the shooting occurred at about 10:30 p.m. ET “on a charter bus full of students returning from a field trip to see a play.”
“This is an unimaginably sad day for our community,” said Ryan. “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.”
A news release reports that Jones was apprehended “without incident” about 75 miles southeast of the university in a suburb of Richmond, Va. University Police Chief Tim Longo said that Jones faces three counts of second-degree murder and three counts of using a handgun to commit a felony. National news reports that Jones was listed on the university’s website as a football player during the 2018 season but didn’t play in any games.
Original story: 10:09 a.m. CT
National news reports that a shooting at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Va., left three dead and two wounded on Sunday night. The campus went into lockdown shortly after the incident, which occurred at about 10:30 p.m. local time, and lasted overnight. The suspect remains at large; local law enforcement encouraged the university community to shelter in place as they searched on and around the campus grounds, according to the UVA Police Department’s official Twitter account.
The lockdown was lifted at about 10:40 a.m. local time on Monday morning, and the university cancelled classes for the day, according to local news.
Campus police have identified the suspect as student Christopher Darnell Jones Jr. Multiple news outlets report that Jones was listed as a member of the UVA football team in 2018. Law enforcement have released a photo, description, and the license plate information of the vehicle he could potentially be driving, as well as the information that Jones is considered to be “armed and dangerous,” according to local news.
NPR reports that the shooting occurred near a parking garage on campus. Officials have not yet released the identities of the three victims or the two wounded, who are receiving medical care.
“We will share details as soon as we are able,” said University of Virginia President Jim Ryan in a statement. “This is a message any leader hopes never to have to send, and I am devastated that this violence has visited the University of Virginia.”