University of Virginia Shooting Sparks Panic, Leads to Lockdown; ‘Armed and Dangerous’ Ex-UVA Football Player Wanted

A former football player at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville is wanted by the police for the shooting deaths of three and the wounding of two more on campus Sunday night.

Reports of gunfire in the Culbreth parking garage began trickling in at approximately 10:30 p.m. on Sunday. Shortly after, a warning was sent out to the whole UVA community stating that the suspect was still at large and advising everyone to seek cover immediately, per Fox News.

University police are searching Christopher Darnell Jones Jr. for the shooting. It's been said that Jones used to play football for the University of Virginia.

His burgundy sweatshirt, blue pants, and red shoes were his final known items of clothing. According to the police, he could be in a black SUV with the Virginia license plate number TWX3580.

Christopher Darnell Jones has been labeled as armed and dangerous. If you see him, please notify the police and stay away from him until help arrives, authorities advised.

Search for Shooter Continues

According to the latest UVA Alert on Twitter, "Law enforcement teams continue to search on and around UVA grounds." Authorities also advised to "remain sheltered in place" and anticipate heightened police presence.

In a press release issued early Monday, UVA police reported three persons had been murdered and two others were injured in the incident. Not much else could be found out about it right now.

After midnight, someone posted a video to Twitter that looked to show a SWAT unit entering a building. According to UVA authorities, Virginia State Police used a helicopter and numerous agencies to search the suspect in the University of Virginia Shooting, per CNN.

One of the university's highest officials stressed the importance of the shelter warning.

"Please, please take the shelter-in-place commands seriously as the situation remains active," Vice President and Dean of Students Robyn S. Hadley stated in his email to all university students. He also noted that the suspect is armed and dangerous, as reported by The Insider.

One Twitter user posted that "The University of Virginia is under lockdown after a mass shooting and I'm tempted to think of it as normal. But it's NOT normal. Not for the victims and not for their families."

Most Number of School Shootings Recorded in 2022

According to a report of The Conversation, 2022 is already the worst year ever in terms of school shootings at this point. There have been 257 school shootings as of October 24th, surpassing the 250 total for the entire year of 2021.

Teens brought their anger and weapons to school, turning otherwise minor confrontations into fatal ones. In March 2022, six teenagers reportedly opened fire at East High during dismissal, resulting in 42 rounds being fired. One kid was killed and two women were seriously wounded in the gunshots. The district attorney said that because six firearms were involved, this was one of the most complicated murder investigations his office had ever done.

In the same month, two teenagers are accused of firing over 100 rounds with a rifle and handgun that had been converted for fully automatic fire at Miami Gardens High in Florida. Bullets hit two pupils inside the school while targeting a student outside.

In October, a similar event occurred outside of Philadelphia's Roxborough High School. After a football scrimmage, a lunchtime quarrel escalated into a deliberate shooting. A 15-year-old was shot and killed after allegedly being fired upon with 60 rounds by five teenagers as they left a football game.

Each of these incidents involved dozens of rounds fired by several student shooters.

For 2022, the number includes both mass shootings and those committed by lone gunmen.

Meanwhile, User Ingsh mom of aME!ia asked social media users to pray that the authorities catch the culprit in the University of Virginia Shooting.

Tags

United States, Virginia, University of Virginia, Crime, School Shooting, Gun violence