Charlottesville, Virginia — The president of the school said Monday that he thinks a student at the University of Virginia shot and killed three of the school’s football players on Sunday night. Authorities said Monday that the suspect, a student named Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., had been taken into custody.
During a press conference, UVA President Jim Ryan gave the names of the dead people as Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr., and D’Sean Perry. Two other students were hurt in the shooting; one was in critical condition and the other was in good condition. They were both getting treatment.
Ryan told reporters, “This is a sad, shocking, and terrible day for our UVA community.”
Ryan said the shooting happened late Sunday night on a bus “full of students” coming back from a field trip. The bus was near a campus parking garage. Ryan said that around 10:30 p.m., police were called because shots had been fired.
During the press conference, Tim Longo, who is in charge of police at the university, heard that the suspect had been caught. Before announcing the arrest, Longo said that the suspect was being charged with three counts of second-degree murder and three counts of using a handgun in the commission of a felony.
The photo of Jones below was taken from the university’s athletics website. In 2018, when he was a freshman, Jones was listed as a member of the UVA football team.
The UVA Police Department wants to talk to Christopher Darnell Jones about the shooting that happened on the University of Virginia campus. If you see it, call 911 and don’t go near it.
Posted on November 13, 2022, by the University of Virginia Police Department
After shots were reportedly fired on campus late Sunday night, students and staff were told to stay in place. At 10:42 p.m., the university’s emergency management sent out a tweet about a “active attacker with a gun.” After a “thorough search” on and around the campus, police said the “shelter-in-place” order was lifted late Monday morning.
Ryan said in a tweet, “There was a shooting on Culbreth Road, and the suspect is still out there, armed and dangerous.”
Ryan later sent the letter with the message to everyone at the university. In it, he said he was “heartbroken to report that the shooting has killed three people” and that two others were taken to the hospital and treated for injuries he didn’t say.
On November 14, 2022, in Charlottesville, Virginia, police secure the scene of a shooting that happened overnight at the University of Virginia. Photo by Steve Helber/AP
The UVA Police Department also put up an online notice saying that several police departments were looking for a suspect who was “armed and dangerous.”
In a letter he sent out Monday morning, Ryan said that only people on the list of “essential staff” should come to work.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch said that a UVA student who was in her dorm room near Culbreth Road said that she heard six shots.
The leaders of Virginia’s government spoke out about the shooting on social media.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin said on Twitter that he and his wife, Suzanne Youngkin, were praying for the people of UVA this morning.
Sen. Tim Kaine said in a tweet that it broke his heart to hear that gun violence had destroyed yet another town in Virginia. “Praying for the people of UVA and keeping a close eye on the situation.