The University of Virginia suffered the latest shooting tragedy on a college campus late Sunday night, when a former walk-on football player, Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., shot and killed three current football players and injured two other students.
The shooting occurred on a school bus returning from an off-campus field trip to see a play in Washington, D.C., with the first call coming in at 10:16 p.m. and police arriving on the scene at 10:30 p.m. Two of the players were found dead at the scene, with the third pronounced dead after being transported to the hospital.
First call came in around 10:16 last night, per law enforcement. Arrived on scene at approximately 10:30. Shooting occurred in a bus of UVa student returning from a field trip. Classes and men’s basketball game later today canceled.
— Richard
Johnson (@RJ_Writes) November 14, 2022
Jones was at large for much of Monday morning before being brought into custody during the university’s press conference, with police chief Tim Longo learning he had been apprehended as he was providing an update to the media.
JUST IN: A suspect is in custody after three football players were killed and two other students were injured in a shooting at the University of Virginia on Sunday, authorities say. https://t.co/xoaNgK1tO1 pic.twitter.com/IEDPF7BFMr
— ABC News (@ABC) November 14, 2022
University president Jim Ryan confirmed the deaths of football players Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis, and D’Sean Perry. Ryan withheld the names of the two other victims, one of whom is in good condition and the other is in critical condition, for privacy reasons. Ryan also noted that Jones is currently a student but has not been a member of the football team for more than a year. Jones has been charged with three counts of second-degree murder and three counts of using a handgun in the commission of a felony.