Virginia Football Shooting: Ex-Player Arrested Over Fatal Shooting That Killed 3 UVA Players, Injured 2 Others

At least three of the victims in the shooting at the University of Virginia on Sunday night, including the gunman, were connected to the school's football team.

Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr., and D'Sean Perry were all active members of the team when they died.

Virginia Football Shooting

Davis Jr., a junior from South Carolina, caught two touchdown passes while serving as the team's third-leading pass receiver this season. Perry, a Florida-born junior reserve linebacker who played in six of the team's ten games, was active.

Chandler, a junior wide receiver who had moved from the University of Wisconsin to Virginia, had not yet played for the 'Hoos, as the university's athletic teams are informally known. Additionally, Davis belonged to the Groundskeepers, a team of football players from Virginia who work to promote social change.

Tony Elliott, the university's first-year football coach, said in a statement, "These were incredible young men with huge aspirations and incredibly bright futures. Our hearts ache for their families."

Virginia's record this year under Elliott, a former offensive coordinator at Clemson, is 3-7. They lost to the University of Pittsburgh in their most recent game, which took place on Saturday at home, as per NY Times.

This season's schedule still has two games left: one against Virginia Tech on November 26 and the other against Coastal Carolina this coming weekend. Rivals of Virginia in the world of college football wrote to offer their sympathies as word of the tragedy spread.

Victims of the Virginia College Shooting

Three football players were slain, according to University of Virginia President Jim Ryan: Devin Chandler from Virginia Beach, Virginia; Lavel Davis Jr. from Ridgeville, South Carolina; and D'Sean Perry from Miami. Here are some specifics regarding the victims, according to CNN:

Lavel Davis Jr.

One of the top wide receivers for the Virginia Cavaliers this season was Lavel Davis Jr. Davis, a 6-foot-7-inch receiver, was the team's main deep threat. He finished the season with 16 catches for 371 yards and two touchdowns, a remarkable 23.2 yards per catch.

He recorded 20 catches for 515 yards and five touchdowns as a freshman in 2020, enough for a second-best-in-the-nation average of 25.75 yards per catch. However, he missed the 2021 season due to injuries.

Outside of class, Davis claimed in a May 2021 video posted to UVA Football's Twitter account that he liked to watch '90s movies, read Shakespeare, and study the Bible. To help the family with funeral costs, a friend of the family started a GoFundMe page.

D'Sean Perry

According to their lawyer Michael Haggard, D'Sean Perry's parents expressed gratitude to the South Florida and Charlottesville communities for their support following the tragedy.

Perry's parents also stated in the statement that they would respect the University of Virginia community, which "has been frightened by another mass shooting in the United States," and refrain from discussing their son's passing in public.

Perry, a junior, has played in 15 games for Virginia over the past three seasons as a linebacker. In the 37-7 loss on Saturday against Pittsburgh, he had two tackles.

Devin Chandler

Devin Chandler, a junior who moved from the University of Wisconsin this offseason, played wide receiver and kick returner for UVA.

Virginia College Shooting Suspect Arrested

The suspect, Christopher Jones Jr., was a running back for the team in 2018, but he did not play in any games, and in seasons after that, he was not on the roster.

Jones was the target of a multi-agency manhunt that lasted 13 hours and was cautioned to students on campus to find shelter. Jones was described as "armed and dangerous." Following the incident, classes at the 25,000-student university were canceled on Monday, and staff and students had access to assistance.

Per Sky News, the incident is the most recent shooting to occur on a US college or school campus in recent history. The bloodshed has intensified the fight for stricter gun control regulations in the US, where the freedom to carry weapons is protected by the Constitution.