UVA The UVA victims
Three current football players at the University of Virginia (UVA) are the victims who were shot in a mass shooting on November 13, 2022, police announced.
The university announced the victims’ names in a press conference.
They have been named as Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr., and D’Sean Perry. The other two victims are also students. One is in critical condition and the other is in good condition, the university said.
The suspect is Christopher Darnell Jones, a University of Virginia student and former football player. The shooting broke out on the school’s Charlottesville campus on November 13, 2022. He was taken into custody Monday morning, November 14, police said.
Here’s what you need to know about each victim
Devin Chandler
University of Virginia President Jim Ryan said at the press conference the shootings happened on a “bus full of students returning from a field trip.”
Chandler, a junior wide receiver from North Carolina, previously played at the University of Wisconsin and transferred to UVA in 2021.
Jim Leonhard, defensive coordinator for the Badgers, said in a statement, according to WISN-TV:
He had a lasting impacting 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. I want to personally extend my condolences to his family and the Virginia football family.
Comedian Rickey Smiley wrote on Facebook, “Devin Chandler was like a nephew to me!! I’m devastated today!! WTF kind of world we live in!!! Met him and his mother after his father passed and was trying to be something positive to him!! I’m so angry today!!! Please pray for my friend Delaniya 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽?
Lavel Davis Jr.
Davis, a junior running back, was from South Carolina.
Dorchester School District 4 wrote in a tribute on Facebook:
We are deeply saddened at the loss of one of our former Wolverine family members, Lavel Davis Jr. Lavel was an outstanding Student Athlete in Dorchester School District 4, who went on to represent his community at the University of Virginia playing Division 1 football. Lavel’s determination to succeed and devotion to family united those around him and made all those who encountered him better for knowing him. Dorchester School District 4 extends our deepest condolences to Lavel’s family, friends, teammates and his community. Please continue to keep the Davis family and the families of the other victims in your thoughts and prayers. This is a tremendous loss; Lavel’s legacy will never be forgotten. #woodlandstrong #payitforward
The UCA website provides this bio for him:
Played wide receiver and safety at Woodland High School for head coach Eddie Ford … earned all-state honors after making 40 catches for 622 yards and seven touchdowns as a senior … selected to play in South Carolina’s North-South all-star game … collected 70 receptions for 1,007 yards and 15 touchdowns as a junior … also plays basketball and runs track for Woodland High School … a three-star recruit by ESPN.com Rivals.com and 247sports.com … major is undecided in the College of Arts and Sciences… recipient of the 2022-23 Danny Lee Fassio Family Bicentennial Scholarship.
D’Sean Perry/h2>
Perry, a linebacker and defensive end, was a junior from Miami.
Perry’s family released a statement to CBS News:
On behalf of D’Sean’s parents, Happy and Sean Perry, and their entire family, we thank the South Florida and Charlottesville communities for the outpouring of support during this impossibly tragic time.
Right now, Happy and Sean will not speak publicly about the incident as their grief is only beginning, and out of respect for the University of Virginia community which has been terrorized by another mass shooting in the United States.
He was a 2019 graduate of Pinecrest private school, according to CBS News.
The UVA website gives this bio for Perry:
Played linebacker, defensive line and tight end at Gulliver Prep for head coach Earl Sims … named the South Florida Conference’s 2018 Defensive Player of the Year … finished his senior season in 2018 with 89 tackles, 16.0 tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks and three interceptions … helped Gulliver Prep to an 8-4 record and a playoff berth in 2018, losing in the regional semifinal … as a junior he made 53 tackles, 15.0 tackles for loss, 6.0 sacks and recovered a fumble … graduates with 199 career tackles, 41.0 tackles for loss and 15.0 sacks … on Team USA U19 and appeared in the International Bowl in Dallas, Texas … also played high school basketball … high school coach, Earl Sims, was a three-year letterwinner for Virginia (1998, 2000-01) at linebacker … attended the same high school as current Cavalier DE Mandy Alonso … a three-star recruit by ESPN.com, Rivals.com and 247sports.com … major is Studio Art.
The news that 22-year-old Christopher Jones had been arrested broke as the university’s police chief was giving a press conference at 11 a.m. The suspect, who also goes by the name Chris Jones, was a football player at UVA in 2018, according to the school’s website. He did not appear in any games for the Cavaliers that year. Jones is from Petersburg, Virginia.
Police obtained warrants charging him with three counts of second-degree murder and three counts of using a handgun in a felony, the university’s police chief said during the press conference. University of Virginia Police Chief Tim Longo said Jones was not arrested on campus, but did not immediately have any additional information on where he was detained.
Longo said two of victims were found dead inside the charter bus, “where they had been for the day, enjoying a school activity, having a meal together and coming back to our grounds. And someone amongst them chose to do an act of violence. And we found them dead inside that bus.” A third victim was taken to a local hospital and died there, Longo said.
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