A former University of Virginia football player was arrested after he was suspected of killing three football players and wounding two other students on campus Sunday night is in custody after a manhunt in Charlottesville, Virginia, reports CBS News. The suspect identified as Christopher Darnell Jones, Jr. was listed as a freshman running back on the team's roster back in 2018. He has been charged with three counts of second-degree murder.
University of Virginia president Jim Ryan shared that the three Cavaliers football players—junior receiver Lavel Davis Jr. of Dorchester, South Carolina; junior receiver Devin Chandler of Huntersville, North Carolina; and junior defensive end/linebacker D'Sean Perry of Miami—new shot and killed. He also added that two other students were shot and were hospitalized; one in good condition and one in critical condition. He did not identify the other students.
According to Ryan, the mass shooting took place on a charter bus after students returned to campus from a field trip. He described the fatal incident as a “sad, shocking, and tragic day for the university community."
"Let me say how deeply sorry I am for the victims and for their family and friends," Ryan said at a press conference on Monday. "Although we do not yet have a full understanding of the motive and circumstances surrounding these events, police are investigating as we speak," Ryan said during Monday's news conference.
"This is an unimaginably sad day for our community. The entire university community is grieving this morning,” he continued. “My heart is broken for the victims and their families and for all those who knew and loved them, and they are all in my prayers. As I've said before, when I see our students, I see my own kids, and I cannot imagine anything worse for a parent than losing a child."
Law enforcement implored students and staff to shelter in place after a report that shots had been fired on the campus. On Twitter, the university's emergency management issued an alert at 10:42 p.m. of an "active attacker firearm."
"There has been a shooting on Culbreth Road and the suspect is at large and considered armed and dangerous," Ryan said in a tweet.
The UVA Police Department also posted a notice online saying that multiple police agencies were searching for a suspect who was considered "armed and dangerous."
On Monday morning, the shelter-in-place order was lifted after a "thorough search" on and around the campus, police said.
In a letter, Ryan said that only designated essential staff should come to work on Monday.
School officials announced that Monday's men's basketball game between Northern Iowa and Virginia has been canceled.
