Three people were killed and two were injured last night at the University of Virginia. The suspect, Christopher Darnell Jones, is now in custody. News of the arrest came during a scheduled press conference this morning, when Chief of Police Timothy Longo received word just after 11 a.m.
The shooting occurred at the Culbreth garage parking area, located within the Arts Grounds of UVA’s campus. At approximately 10:30 p.m., university police responded to a call of shots fired. The shooting occurred on a charter bus of about 25 students who were returning from a field trip. The trip was associated with a UVA class, and the students were returning from seeing a play in DC earlier that day.
Devin Chandler of Virginia Beach; Lavel Davis of Dorchester, South Carolina; and D’Sean Perry of Miami were killed. All of the victims were UVA football players. Chandler and Perry died on the bus, and Davis was transported to the University of Virginia medical center, where he died.
Of the two victims injured, UVA President Jim Ryan reported one student is in good condition, and the other student is in critical condition. UVA is not releasing any further information about the injured victims at this time.
Ryan identified the suspect as a 22-year-old UVA student who was formerly a member of the UVA football team, but has not been a team member for the past year. Jones is listed as a running back on the Virginia football team in 2018 on the UVA Sports website, but he did not appear in any games. He attended Varina High School in Henrico, Virginia, for three years and Petersburg High School in Petersburg, Virginia, for one year.
UVA cancelled classes and activities today, and over 500 students sheltered in place overnight in libraries and gyms throughout the grounds until around 10:30 this morning when the order was lifted. Charlottesville City Public Schools, Albemarle County Public Schools, and Charlottesville City Offices are closed today.
Chief of Police Timothy Longo reported that authorities had charged Jones with three counts of second-degree murder and three counts of using a handgun in the commission of a felony.
Longo said during the press conference that Jones came to the attention of the University’s Threat Assessment Team in September 2022. The Office of Student Affairs reported that Jones made a comment about possessing a gun to someone unaffiliated with the university. After follow-up, Jones’s roommate apparently did not report seeing a weapon. Longo stated Jones was also part of a hazing investigation, as well as a criminal incident in February 2021 of a concealed weapon violation outside of Charlottesville.
Longo did not have further information about how Jones escaped the scene.
