Charlottesville, Va. The University of Virginia lifted a campus-wide lockdown on Monday after a shooting spree on a charter bus that was returning from a field trip left three students dead and two injured, according to authorities.
D’Sean Perry, Lavel Davis Jr., and Devin Chandler were killed; they were all football players at the institution, according to university president Jim Ryan. The two injured individuals’ names have not been made public.
At a news conference on Monday, Ryan said, “This is a sad, shocking, and tragic day for our UVA community,” adding that the authorities did not have a “full understanding” of the circumstances surrounding the shooting.
Though he didn’t play in any games, the alleged gunman, Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., was a former UVA football player. He was taken into custody just before 11 a.m. on Monday in Henrico County, which is located about 75 miles southeast of Charlottesville. Jones, 22, is a student at the 22,000-student institution, according to Ryan.
Jones is charged with three charges of second-degree murder and three counts of committing a felony with a pistol.
Approximately 12 hours of shelter-in-place were required on campus as a result of the shooting. During the briefing, University Police Chief Timothy Longo learned that Jones had been taken into custody.
Just give me a moment so I can thank God and exhale in relief, Longo pleaded.
The arrest’s specifics weren’t immediately made public.
On the northern edge of the campus, a shooting was reported at around 10:30 p.m. on Sunday, according to Longo. Students were promptly alerted by the school: “Firearm used by ACTIVE ATTACKER reported near Culbreth Road. FIGHT HIDE RUN.”
Students would have access to therapy and psychological assistance, according to Ryan. Both Monday and Tuesday’s classes and a UVA basketball game were postponed.
Ryan remarked in an open letter posted on social media that “this is a message any leader hopes never to have to give, and I am horrified that this violence has visited the University of Virginia.” “Everyone in our community is affected by this horrific tragedy.”
Agents are assisting the investigation, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. State police, according to Governor Glenn Youngkin, were working with local law enforcement, and he and his wife, Suzanne, were “praying for the UVA community.