A University of Virginia student suspected of killing three of the school's football players and injuring two others on campus Sunday, Nov. 13 is in custody following an hours-long manhunt, police said.
The UVA Police Department and the UVA Office of Emergency Management identified Christopher Darnell Jones as a suspect in the shooting. University President Jim Ryan described Jones as “one of our students” in a letter to students.
"I am heartbroken to report that the shooting has resulted in three fatalities; two additional victims were injured and are receiving medical care," Ryan said. "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."
UVA Chief of Police Timothy Longo said during a press conference the department had secured an arrest warrant charging Jones with three counts of second-degree murder and three counts of using a handgun in the commission of a felony.
Ryan identified the three victims as Devin Chandler, a second-year student from Virginia Beach; Lavel Davis Jr., a third-year student from South Carolina; and D’Sean Perry, a fourth-year student from Miami.
Ryan did not share the identities of the two injured students. He said one was in good condition, and the other is in critical condition.
The victims were on a bus returning from a field trip to see a play associated with a class, Ryan said. The UVA Office of Emergency Management tweeted at 10:31 p.m. on Nov. 13 that gunfire was first reported near a parking garage near the school's drama building.
Additional alerts sent to students warned them to “shelter in place” and “RUN HIDE FIGHT” as a manhunt began for the suspected shooter.
"Call 911 if seen, do not approach," the UVA Police Department said in a tweet that also shared a photo of Jones.
NBC News reported the same photo appears on a 2018 football roster on the official website for the school’s team, the Virginia Cavaliers. The profile said Jones did not appear in any games that year.
Authorities launched a manhunt for Jones after the shooting, and a search was conducted on and around the school's campus early Monday morning. The shelter in place order was lifted at 10:33 a.m. on Nov. 14, following "a thorough search on and around" the grounds.
"We have all received several shelter in place texts, and they are frightening," Robyn S. Hadley, vice president and dean of students at the University of Virginia, said in an email to students. She said she was sheltering in place and was "in direct touch with University leadership and UPD."
Classes were canceled on Nov. 14, and only essential employees should report to work on campus, Ryan said.
