Christopher Darnell Jones Jr. went on a rampage last night, which ended with him murdering three Virginia football players.
The question is, why?
A former University of Virginia football player suspected of killing three football players and wounding two other students on campus late Sunday night is in custody after a manhunt in Charlottesville, Virginia, police confirmed Monday.
During a news conference on Monday, University of Virginia president Jim Ryan said Jones shot and killed 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.
Authorities said the suspect in the shooting, identified as Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., has been taken into custody. Jones was listed as a freshman running back on the team’s 2018 roster, and his roster bio noted that he previously played at Petersburg High School and Varina High School in Virginia.
Ryan said two other students were shot and were hospitalized; he said one was in good condition and one is in critical condition. Ryan did not identify the other students.
Ryan said the shooting took place on a charter bus after students returned to campus from a field trip. He called the incident a “sad, shocking and tragic day for the university community.”
Here is what we know about Jones Jr.
University of Virginia Chief of Police Tim Longo said Christopher Darnell Jones “came to the attention of the University of Virginia’s threat assessment team in the fall of 2022.” Longo said, “in fact, in September of 2022, our Office of Student Affairs reported to the multi-disciplinary threat assessment team they received information that Mr. Jones had made a comment about possessing a gun to a person who was unaffiliated with the university.”
According to Longo, Jones had also 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 that it was eventually closed due to witnesses that would not cooperate with the process.”
Longo said, “But 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.” Longo said that as a UVA student, Jones was required to report that arrest and “he never did,” so the “university has taken appropriate administrative charges through the university’s judicial council and that matter is still pending adjudication.”
Jones’ football bio says that he did not appear in any games for the University of Virginia, although he was on the 2018 roster.
However, the bio says he was a high-achieving high school student, both on the field and off. He was 5 foot 9 inches tall and 195 pounds as a freshman.
Details of exactly how long Jones was a member of the football team and when any why he left were not immediately clear.
Very tragic story.
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