UPDATE: 3rd victim in University of Virginia shooting identified -Dispatch

This is continuing coverage of a shooting that killed three at the University of Virginia Sunday night and the arrest of Christopher Darnell Jones Jr. Monday in Henrico County.

7:50 p.m. update: 

Gov. Glenn Youngkin on Monday evening issued an order to have U.S. and Virginia state flags be flown at half-staff over the Statehouse and local, state and federal buildings “in respect and memory of the victims of the University of Virginia shooting, their families, and the Charlottesville community.”

4 p.m. update

UVa has canceled class Tuesday to allow students the opportunity to reflect, mourn and gather with each other, the university announced Monday afternoon. 

“University Police will continue to work with their partners in law enforcement to investigate this shooting, and we will provide additional information about those efforts as we are able,” the school said in a statement. “Our hearts remain broken as the senseless loss of three members of our university community, Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr and D’Sean Perry.” 

No updates were given about the two students who remain hospitalized. One was in critical condition, Charlottesville police chief Timothy Longo said Monday morning. 

The university will plan a vigil, the school said. UVa encouraged students to call Counseling and Psychological Services at (434) 243-5150 if necessary. Faculty and staff can reach out to the Faculty and Employee Assistance Program at (434) 243-2643. 

3:47 p.m. update

Jinnette said he saw Jones walking around the outside of Acors and Griffith Inc. auto shop at Darbytown Road and Action Street at about 8:15 Monday morning.

“Anytime you see someone coming around that doesn’t belong or anything, it always draws your attention,” Jinnette said.

Jinnette said those in his office had been following the news out of Charlottesville around the time Jones showed up, he said. 

“I mean, my first interaction with the news for today was coming in here turning my computer on,” said Jinnette. “I didn’t stare at a picture of him to see who he was because a guy in Charlottesville he’s supposed to be here.”

The encounter was suspicious enough for him to lock the doors of the office before he left the shop around 10 a.m., he said.

A few moments later, he received a text from his secretary with a picture of the man he saw.

“One of the ladies in the office texted me a picture of the guy who’s been captured. And when I saw the picture I kind of just glanced at it,” said Jinnette. “About 30 minutes later, after I finished what I was doing I said ‘Man that’s the guy who just walked by the shop!”

While Jinnette had a closer encounter, some neighbors like Adam Massalha saw a few police cars rounding the block, completely unaware of what happened.

“I was just outside on my porch when I saw a few police cars,” said Massahla. “ I had no idea what was going on.”

Around 10 to 12 police vehicles from local, state and federal descended to the 5700 block Edgelawn Street in Henrico County, one resident said. 

The 5700 block Edgelawn leads to a dead end, where police located Jones’ car parked near the end of the block, another resident said. 

It’s not immediately clear why Jones stopped in the neighborhood. 

— Lyndon German 

1:59 p.m. update:

Virginia Tech’s administration held a moment of silence on Monday afternoon before its regular quarterly board meeting, in recognition of the deadly shooting at the University of Virginia on Sunday night.

“I want to acknowledge and share our sympathy for the UVa community, for the unimaginable pain and loss they are experiencing today,” said board Rector Tish Long. “Our hearts and our support go out to our friends and colleagues at our sister institution.” 

Before proceeding with the meeting in Blacksburg, President Tim Sands said Virginia Tech’s administration has already reached out to support their UVa counterparts.​

“We are heartbroken to learn of the loss of life and injuries, and our thoughts are with the families of the victims, the wounded and the members of a UVa and Charlottesville community that are undergoing a traumatic experience right now,” Sands said. “As we all know too well, the end of the incident is the beginning of a long period of caring, feeling and learning.”

1:27 p.m. update: 

Henrico County police in a statement said patrol officers were on the lookout for the vehicle believed to be driven by Christopher Darnell Jones Jr. following Sunday’s shooting at the University of Virginia. 

An officer spotted the vehicle Monday morning, police said, and Jones was arrested. 

12:35 p.m. update:

The suspect in Sunday’s shooting that killed three at the University of Virginia was arrested in Henrico County, police said Monday.

The arrest was just before 11 a.m. in the 5700 block of Edgelawn Street, police said.

The area is a residential neighborhood off of Darbytown Road.

Police in a statement said Christopher Darnell Jones Jr. was taken into custody “without incident.” 

They’re asking for anyone with information to call police at (434) 924-7166.

12:30 p.m. update:

Gov. Glenn Youngkin, at Virginia State University for a naturalization ceremony, noted that the suspect had been apprehended and the lockdown lifted.

“Right now our job is to support and comfort the families, students who were injured, the whole UVa and Charlottesville community,” he said, adding that he is heartbroken by the tragedy.

“This is something you pray never happens,” he said.

Youngkin said it was important that people paid attention and followed instructions to shelter in place.

12:03 p.m. update:

The shooting that left three University of Virginia students dead late Sunday happened on a charter bus that had returned from Washington, D.C., for a field trip, officials said. 

Two other people were wounded. University President Jim Ryan during a press conference Monday said one was in critical condition and the other was in good condition.

Christopher Darnell Jones Jr. was arrested Monday. He attended Petersburg High School, where he played running back and linebacker positions. 

He has been charged with three counts of murder and three counts of using a firearm in the commission of a felony.

11:13 a.m. update:

University of Virginia shooting suspect Christopher Darnell Jones is in custody, officials said Monday. 

Jones has been charged with three counts of second-degree murder. Officials announced the arrested during a press conference, but not say where the arrest was. 

The shooter had previously been reported to the student threat assessment by someone who he told he had a gun, officials said. 

UVA President Jim Ryan also confirmed Devin Chandler, D’Sean Perry and Lavel Davis Jr. were killed in Sunday night’s shooting. 

“This is a sad, shocking and tragic day for our UVA community,” he said. 

UVA police Chief Tim Longo said Jones came to the attention of the University of Virginia’s threat assessment team earlier in the fall.

Jones had made a comment about possessing a gun to a person, who contacted authorities, Longo said. The person never saw the weapon, he said. 

“Mr. Jones also had come to the attention of the threat assessment team because he was involved in a hazing investigation of some sort. I don’t know the facts and circumstances of that investigation. I know it was eventually closed due to witnesses that would not cooperate with the process,” Longo said. “Through the course of the threat assessment team’s investigation, we learned of a prior criminal incident involving a concealed weapon violation that occurred outside the city of Charlottesville in February of 2021. What’s interesting about that case is, he’s required by the university to report that and he never did. So the university (has filed) the appropriate administrative charges.”

Longo said that Perry and Chandler died at the scene. Their bodies were found by police aboard the charter bus. 

Lavel Davis was transported to the medical center where he died, Longo said. 

10:50 a.m. update: 

The Wisconsin State Journal is reporting a victim in the University of Virginia shooting is Devin Chandler. 

Chandler, a wide receiver and Huntersville, North Carolina, native, previously played for the University of Wisconsin.

10:34 a.m. update:

The University of Virginia has lifted its order directing students to shelter in place, almost 12 hours after it was implemented. No arrest has been announced. Authorities identified Christopher Darnell Jones Jr. as a suspect. 

At 10:34, university officials sent an alert to students, telling them they could leave their rooms after a thorough search on and around campus. 

“A large police presence will remain,” the alert stated. 

Classes were canceled Monday. 

10 a.m. update:

Virginia wide receiver Lavel Davis Jr. was one of two football players shot and killed Sunday night, according to a Tweet from his cousin, Newberry College assistant football coach Sean Lampkin.

Police suspect former UVa football player Chris Jones of killing three people, including Davis and linebacker D’Sean Perry, at a parking deck on the school’s campus.

8 a.m. update:

D’ Sean Perry, a linebacker and defensive end for the University of Virginia football team, is one of three people shot dead at Culbreth Garage on UVa Central Grounds at the University of Virginia Sunday night, Perry’s father Sean Perry confirmed Monday morning.

D’ Sean Perry, who was 6’3″ tall and weighed 230 pounds, made two tackles in Saturday’s University of Virginia’s game against Pittsburgh. Today, his parents are flying in from his hometown of Miami.

UVa President Jim Ryan said in an email to the community early Monday morning that three students had been killed in the Sunday night shooting. The names of the two other victims who were killed are not available at this time, nor are the names of the two victims who lived.

The shooter is still at large, and several law enforcement agencies are looking for him. He is considered armed and dangerous.

Classes are cancelled today, Ryan said in his letter.

“This is a message any leader hopes never to have to send, and I am devastated that this violence has visited the University of Virginia,” Ryan wrote. “This is a traumatic incident for everyone in our community and we have cancelled classes for today (Monday, Nov. 14.)”

– Sydney Shuler, The Daily Progress

6 a.m. update:

CHARLOTTESVILLE — Three people have been killed and two others were wounded in a shooting late Sunday at the University of Virginia, according to the school’s president. Police are searching for a suspect, who remains at large.

The shooting at around 10:30 p.m. Sunday “resulted in three fatalities; two additional victims were injured and are receiving medical care,” President Jim Ryan said in a letter to the university community posted on social media.

The university’s emergency management issued an alert on Sunday night notifying the campus community of an “active attacker firearm.” The message warned students to shelter in place following a report of shots fired on Culbreth Road on the campus.

The UVA Police Department posted a notice online saying multiple police agencies including the state police were searching for a suspect who was considered “armed and dangerous.”

Ryan’s letter confirmed the suspect was still at large.

“This is a message any leader hopes never to have to send, and I am devastated that this violence has visited the University of Virginia,” Ryan wrote. “This is a traumatic incident for everyone in our community and we have cancelled classes for today (Monday, Nov. 14.)”

– The Associated Press

Earlier story …

A shooting occurred late Sunday night on the campus of the University of Virginia. UVa policed identified a suspect, Christopher Darnell Jones.

Jones reportedly grew up in Richmond and played football at two area high schools.

At 10:42 p.m., the university’s emergency management Twitter account reported “ACTIVE ATTACKER firearm reported in area of Culbreth Road. RUN HIDE FIGHT.”

As of 3 a.m. authorities had not released word about any potential injuries or fatalities. Multiple police agencies, including a Virginia State Police helicopter, were searching for the suspect.

Culbreth Road is on the north end of campus near the school’s theater. 

Around 10:15 p.m., UVa sophomore Em Gunter, 19, was watching a lecture in her dormitory when she heard six gunshots ring out. Gunter lives in the International Residential College, and she can see Culbreth Road from her window. 

She sent a message to the 350 other residents in her building and told them to stay inside. She continued to hunker down in her room with friends, who felt terrified.

“I just have no words,” Gunter said. “This is insane.” 

For 10 years, Gunter lived in Southwest Virginia, where the 2007 mass shooting at Virginia Tech remains in the forefront of people’s minds. 

“April 16 was a solemn day for us,” she said.

The emergency management department reported Jones as the suspect Sunday evening, describing him as a Black male, wearing a burgundy jacket, blue jeans and red shoes. Police said he might be driving a black sport utility vehicle with Virginia plates TWX-3580.

UVa police said he is considered armed and dangerous and advised residents to shelter in place and reach out to family and friends. 

According to the UVa athletic department website, Jones played football for the school in 2018 but didn’t appear in any games. 

He grew up in the Essex Village and Mosby Court housing complexes in Richmond, according to a 2018 Richmond Times-Dispatch story. He was smart and quiet, a relative said.

“When I come into the classrooms, everything flowed,” Jones said at the time.

According to the story, Jones’ father left the family when he was little, and Jones got in fights at school, leading to suspensions.

He played football at Varina and Petersburg High Schools and graduated from Petersburg in 2018.

Robyn S. Hadley, dean of students, emailed the UVa community early Monday morning. She told students she, too, was on campus and sheltering in place. 

“Please, please take the shelter in place commands seriously as the situation remains active,” she wrote. 

UVa asked friends and family with questions to call an emergency hotline at (877) 685-4836.

Since 2002, there have been at least 14 incidents of gunfire on Virginia college campuses, according to news reports and data compiled by the nonprofit Everytown for Gun Safety. 

Everytown, which supports gun control, has tallied more than 200 shootings on or near colleges and 400 at K-12 schools in the United States since 2013.

– Eric Kolenich, Richmond Times-Dispatch