{"id":2406,"date":"2022-11-14T23:29:09","date_gmt":"2022-11-15T04:29:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gynesisradio.com\/tpsquare\/2022\/11\/14\/student-suspect-in-custody-after-3-football-players-shot-dead-and-2-people-wounded-at-the-university-of-virginia-police-say\/"},"modified":"2022-11-14T23:29:09","modified_gmt":"2022-11-15T04:29:09","slug":"student-suspect-in-custody-after-3-football-players-shot-dead-and-2-people-wounded-at-the-university-of-virginia-police-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gynesisradio.com\/tpsquare\/2022\/11\/14\/student-suspect-in-custody-after-3-football-players-shot-dead-and-2-people-wounded-at-the-university-of-virginia-police-say\/","title":{"rendered":"Student suspect in custody after 3 football players shot dead and 2 people wounded at the University of Virginia, police say"},"content":{"rendered":"

Police have in custody<\/a> a University of Virginia student and ex-UVA football player suspected of fatally shooting three current players and wounding two other people late Sunday at the school\u2019s main campus in Charlottesville as a bus returned from a class field trip, school officials said.<\/p>

The suspect, Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., 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 Sr. told reporters Monday morning as an hourslong manhunt came to an end and authorities lifted a campus lockdown order.<\/p>

Jones was arrested without incident around 11 a.m. ET about 80 miles east of Charlottesville in Henrico County, the county police agency said in a statement. An officer spotted the vehicle Jones was driving in the eastern area of Henrico where he was \u201ctaken into custody without incident,\u201d according to news release from the police division.<\/p>

Police have not offered a motive for the attack.<\/p>

\"Christopher<\/figure>

Christopher Jones<\/p>

Those killed were Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr. and D\u2019Sean Perry, university President Jim Ryan said. The two wounded students are being treated at UVA Medical Center, with one in critical condition and the other in good condition, he said, declining to name them.<\/p>

One of the two injured students was identified as Michael Hollins, according to Andrew Martin, the head football coach at the University Lab School in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Hollins is a junior at UVA and is a running back for school\u2019s football team, according to the team\u2019s roster<\/a>. CNN has reached out to Hollins\u2019 family but has not received a response.<\/p>

Hollins\u2019 father, Michael Hollins Sr., told The Washington Post <\/a>his son was shot in the back with the bullet lodged in his stomach. Hollins Sr. told the Post he\u2019s expected to recover.<\/p>

\"Left<\/figure>

Left to right: Devin Chandler, D’Sean Perry and Lavel Davis Jr.<\/p>

\u201cThis is a sad, shocking and tragic day for our UVA community,\u201d Ryan said. \u201cLet me say how deeply sorry I am for the victims and for their family and friends.\u201d<\/p>

Carla Williams, UVA athletics director, said in a statement <\/a>that as a mother herself, she aches for the parents and family members of the victims.<\/p>

\u201cWe lost three talented and bright young men,\u201d Williams said. \u201cWe 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\u2019Sean and Devin. I pray for peace, comfort and hope for their parents and loved ones.\u201d<\/p>

Tony Elliot, UVA head football coach, said in a statement <\/a>that it\u2019s hard for him to find the words to \u201cexpress the devastation and heartache that our team is feeling today.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cThese 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,\u201d Elliot said. \u201cWe 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.\u201d<\/p>

At least 68 shootings have unfolded this year on US school grounds<\/a>, including 15 on college campuses, CNN finds, with at least one person shot in each case, not including the shooter. The deadliest school shooting in modern US history <\/a>remains the 2007 attack at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, where a 23-year-old student killed 32 people before dying by suicide.<\/p>

The shooting at the Charlottesville campus is also one of nearly 600 mass shootings in the US this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive<\/a>, which like CNN tallies cases in which at least four people are shot, excluding the shooter.<\/p>

Shooting prompted immediate lockdowns<\/h2>

The attack happened Sunday on a bus returning from a class trip to Washington, DC, where the class had seen a play, university officials said. It was not immediately clear if Jones was part of that class or attended the field trip.<\/p>

Police responded to a report of shots fired around 10:30 p.m. in an area near a parking garage on Culbreth Road and surrounded by academic buildings, Ryan said. Two slain victims were inside the bus, with the third victim taken to a hospital, where he died, Longo said.<\/p>

\"Police<\/figure>

Police on Monday secure the crime scene of an overnight shooting at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.Steve Helber\/AP<\/p>

The call prompted a shelter-in-place alert that was lifted about 12 hours later, Longo said. More than 500 people sheltered throughout campus buildings, including in libraries and classrooms, he said.<\/p>

Monday classes at the university were canceled. The school canceled classes Tuesday to \u201cto give \u201cstudents the opportunity to reflect, mourn and gather with each other,\u201d according to a news release<\/a>. A family and community assistance center has also been set up on campus to provide UVA community members with mental health services, according to UVA Emergency Management officials.<\/p>

Classes were also canceled Monday at Charlottesville City Schools, the K-12 district said in a letter to families. A UVA men\u2019s basketball game scheduled for Monday evening has also been canceled, the university said.<\/p>

In a statement, an attorney for Perry\u2019s parents thanked the communities in both Charlottesville and South Florida \u2013 Perry was originally from Miami, the university said \u2013 for \u201cthe outpouring of support during this impossibly tragic time.<\/p>

Happy and Sean Perry would not speak publicly at this time about their son\u2019s death, attorney Michael Haggard said, out of respect for the university community, which \u201chas been terrorized by another mass shooting in the United States.\u201d<\/p>

Suspect had been known to campus police<\/h2>

Jones had come to campus authorities\u2019 attention in September, when authorities found out Jones \u201chad made a comment about possessing a gun\u201d to someone \u201cunaffiliated with the university,\u201d Longo said at Monday\u2019s news conference. But that person never actually saw the gun in question, he said.<\/p>

\"Christopher<\/figure>

Christopher Darnell Jones Jr.<\/p>

\u201cThrough the course of the threat assessment team\u2019s investigation, we learned of a prior criminal incident involving a concealed weapon violation that occurred outside the city of Charlotteville in February of 2021,\u201d Longo said, adding the suspect was required to report that incident to the university but never did. The school\u2019s judicial council took over the case, and the results are pending.<\/p>

Jones was also involved in a hazing investigation on campus that was closed because witnesses would not cooperate, Longo said.<\/p>

What we know about the suspect in the deadly University of Virginia shooting<\/a><\/p>

It is \u201cimportant to share that information with you,\u201d he said, \u201cto let you know that he had been called to our attention.\u201d<\/p>

Jones is listed on UVA\u2019s athletics website<\/a> as a football player in 2018 who as a freshman did not participate in any games. He attended Varina High School and Petersburg High School, where he played football as a linebacker and running back, according to his university athletics bio. 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.<\/p>

A UVA spokesperson told CNN Jones had a pre-existing injury that prevented him from playing on the football team in 2018. Jones went through medical treatment and rehabilitation during his time with the team and was only a member of the team for one season, the spokesperson says.<\/p>

The spokesperson would not give details on Jones\u2019 injury.<\/p>

Federal prosecutors working with local authorities<\/h2>

Before the lockdown was lifted, UVA students early Monday were told to \u201ctake the shelter in place commands seriously as the situation remains active,\u201d vice president and chief student affairs officer Robyn Hadley said in an email <\/a>to UVA\u2019s student body.<\/p>

\u201cWe have all received several shelter in place texts, and they are frightening,\u201d Hadley said, adding several police jurisdictions were working to find the suspect. \u201cI am on grounds like many of you; I am sheltering in place and in direct touch with University leadership and UPD \u2026 If you are not inside and safe, immediately seek safety.\u201d<\/p>

Two UVA students who told CNN they were at the scene of the shooting Sunday night and saw part of it unfold described hearing faint popping noises and watching people flee the bus.<\/p>

The students \u2013 both of whom are 21 and did not want to be identified \u2013 said they were walking to the gym when they saw the charter bus, still in motion. It was just after 10 p.m. when they heard the popping noises, the students said, but they didn\u2019t think anything of it. The bus was going over a speed bump, they said, but then they saw it stop and saw emergency lights turn on.<\/p>

The bus doors opened, the students said, and they saw people running out. The students told CNN they saw one fall to the ground.<\/p>

The students hid behind a brick wall in front of the nearby band building before calling 911 around 10:17 p.m., they said. The call wasn\u2019t answered, the students said, but they hung up when they heard sirens in the distance and saw law enforcement arrive.<\/p>

State and federal prosecutors are helping local agencies in the investigation, according to a joint statement from the US attorney for the Western District of Virginia and commonwealth\u2019s attorneys for Charlottesville and for Albemarle County. The officials pledged to support the investigation and \u201cbring possible charges in the appropriate jurisdiction,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin on Monday called the shooting a \u201chorrific tragedy\u201d and praised the work of law enforcement for taking the suspect into custody, according to a tweet. \u201cWhile there are still many details to uncover, let us lift up the entire community in prayer.\u201d The governor earlier had said Virginia State Police were \u201cfully coordinating\u201d with school and local police.<\/p>

Vice President Kamala Harris spoke on the shooting shortly after swearing in a new ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago on Monday.<\/p>

\u201cIt\u2019s tragic,\u201d Harris said. \u201cOf course, our prayers are with the families of the victims and it\u2019s just yet a constant reminder that we have to do better in terms of gun safety laws in our country.\u201d<\/p>

Meantime, another US campus \u2013 the University of Idaho \u2013 is reeling after police announced a homicide inquiry after officers Sunday discovered four people deceased <\/a>in a home just outside Moscow campus grounds. The deceased were students, and the cause of their deaths is not yet known, the university confirmed, adding the threat has ended.<\/p>

Separately, Charlottesville Police arrested a man in connection to \u201cthreatening social media posts\u201d against UVA on Monday, but said they don\u2019t believe the threats were tied to the earlier shooting.<\/p>

\u201cWe understand the fear this caused in our community and acted swiftly to resolve this investigation,\u201d a Charlottesville police news release said.<\/p>

Sunday\u2019s shooting is the University of Virginia\u2019s latest high-profile run-in with violence: <\/a>White nationalists in August 2017<\/a> marched across campus carrying torches and chanting racist slogans<\/a>. A day later, demonstrators protesting Charlottesville\u2019s plan to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee clashed with counterprotesters, one of whom was killed when a man drove his car into a crowd; that driver is serving life in prison.<\/p>

A UVA lacrosse player five years earlier was convicted and sentenced to 23 years in prison for the 2010 killing of his ex-girlfriend<\/a>, Yeardley Love, in her off-campus apartment.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Police have in custody a University of Virginia student and ex-UVA football player suspected of fatally shooting three current players and wounding two other people late Sunday at the school\u2019s main campus in Charlottesville as a bus returned from a class field trip, school officials said. The suspect, Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., faces three charges of second-degree […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2407,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2406","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gynesisradio.com\/tpsquare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2406","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gynesisradio.com\/tpsquare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gynesisradio.com\/tpsquare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gynesisradio.com\/tpsquare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gynesisradio.com\/tpsquare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2406"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.gynesisradio.com\/tpsquare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2406\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gynesisradio.com\/tpsquare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2407"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gynesisradio.com\/tpsquare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2406"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gynesisradio.com\/tpsquare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2406"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gynesisradio.com\/tpsquare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2406"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}