CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WRIC) — Community members gathered for the one-year anniversary of the tragic shooting in which three students were killed at the University of Virginia (UVA).
Around 10:30 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022, a field trip bus returning from Washington D.C. — occupied by a 22-person class — pulled up to Culbreth Theatre. As students began to make their way off of the bus, the shooting started.
Three UVA football players — Lavel Davis, Jr., D’Sean Perry and Devin Chandler — were shot and killed on the bus while two other students — Michael Hollins and Marlee Morgan — were injured.
Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., a former member of the football team, was identified as the suspect and taken into custody in Henrico County Monday morning after a 12-hour manhunt.
Jones now faces 13 charges including six counts of aggravated murder, the most severe murder charge in Virginia, and aggravated malicious wounding charges.
In October 2023, a third-party investigation requested by the university was completed but has not yet been released to the public.
There will be an observance held at 12:55 p.m. on Nov. 13, 2023, in memory of Chandler, Davis and Perry. During the observance, community members will gather at areas across the grounds — including the chapel and lawn — to honor the victims.
“It is my hope that this will be a chance for the entire community to join one another in remembrance,” said UVA President Jim Ryan in a video statement the night before. “Tomorrow will be a hard day, there’s no single right way to spend it … Nothing can bring back Devin, Lavel and D’Sean but we can honor them — as well as Mike and Marlee — by remembering.”
