Violence in Virginia - 3 Students Killed in Tragic Shooting

Three members of the University of Virginia football team were fatally shot and two other students were injured at a parking garage on campus late Sunday, University of Virginia officials said, in an outburst of violence that set off an intense manhunt in and around Charlottesville for a suspect police described as armed and dangerous. He was captured Monday morning.

Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., a 22-year-old student and former university football player, had allegedly opened fire on a bus full of students who had just returned from a field trip to see a play in D.C., leaving three dead and two injured, authorities said.

At least four of the victims were U-Va. football players. University police officers who rushed to the scene found the bodies of wide receiver Lavel Davis Jr. and linebacker D’Sean Perry on the bus, authorities said. Wide receiver Devin Chandler was rushed to the hospital, where he later died.

Jones had fled the scene by the time police arrived, authorities said, prompting a massive search that lasted 12 hours as the campus was put under a shelter-in-place order. He was taken into custody about 80 miles away in Henrico County, just north of Richmond, around 11 a.m. Monday.

A family member at Jones’s mother’s house said Jones had been bullied for months. “It was just bullying. He just got fed up. There were too many bullies, and nobody was listening,” the person said. “He had nowhere to go, he had nobody to talk to, so he finally gave up. And that’s life, right? Everybody’s got their breaking point.”

“This is an unimaginably sad day for our community,” University of Virginia President James E. Ryan said at a news conference. “My heart is broken for the victims and their families.”

Virginia football coach Tony Elliott addressed players in a team meeting at the football facility shortly after the shelter-in-place order had been lifted.

“I cannot find the words to express the devastation and heartache that our team is feeling today after the tragic events last night that resulted in the deaths of Lavel, D’Sean and Devin, and the others who were injured,” Elliott said in statement. “These were incredible young men with huge aspirations and extremely bright futures.”

The White House released a statement saying President Biden and first lady Jill Biden were mourning with U-Va.

“Our deepest condolences are with the countless families, friends, and neighbors grieving for those killed as well as those injured in this senseless shooting,” the statement read.

Gratefully, Michael Hollins, one of the two victims injured in the University of Virginia mass shooting on Sunday, Nov. 13, has been discharged from the hospital.

“Mike has been discharged!!! HALLELUJAH,” Brenda Hollins, Michale Hollins' mother, wrote this morning. “I want to thank everyone for their prayers, text messages, and calls. This has truly been a test of faith and I’m grateful.”

“Please continue praying for Mike as he recovers and settles into his new life,” she continued in the tweet. “Please continue praying for the Chandler, Davis, Perry families! They need us!! GOD is amazing!”