UVA shootings: Christopher Jones ‘targeted’ football players but motive still unknown, court hears

Michael Hollins, one of two UVA students who survived the shooting, was expected to have his second surgery on Tuesday, his mother, Brenda Hollins, said.

“Mike is in surgery now!!! Please pray!” Ms Hollins wrote on Twitter.

Meanwhile, Mr Hollins’ father said that he was told by authorities that Mr Jones had waited until the UVA bus arrived on campus to open fire. His son is currently on a ventilator after being shot in the back but is gradually improving.

“He waited until they all got back to Charlottesville, and he just shot up the bus,” Michael Hollins Sr told the Daily Beast. “They said because of his age and physical condition, he’s doing exceptionally well.”

The alleged gunman in Sunday’s shooting at the University of Virginia made bizarre comments before killing three students and injuring two others.

Twenty-two-year-old Christopher Darnell Jones, who has been identified by UVA police as the suspect in the shooting, reportedly made remarks about certain students “messing” with him and pushed one of the victims, Lavel Davis Jr, when the group arrived at the Charlottesville campus from a school trip on Sunday night.

“After [Mr Jones] pushed him, he was like ‘You guys are always messing with me.’ He said something like that but it was really bizarre because they didn’t talk to him the whole trip,” Ryan Lynch, who was on the bus when Mr Jones allegedly opened fire, told local news station KYW.

The Independent’s Andrea Blanco has the story:

UVA Police Chief Timothy Longo revealed on Monday that a UVA multidisciplinary threat assessment team launched an investigation after receiving reports that Mr Jones made comments about owning a gun to an individual unaffiliated with the university.

Mr Longo said that Mr Jones had not made threats at the time, but simply mentioned he had a firearm.

“Because I want to be transparent with you, I want you to know … Mr Jones came to the attention of the University of Virginia’s threat assessment team in the fall of 2022,” Mr Longo said. “They received information that Mr Jones had made a comment about possessing a gun to a person that was unaffiliated with the university.”

It is unclear how the investigation unfolded, but Mr Longo said that the individual in question and Mr Jones’ roommate, who did not see the gun, were questioned.

The Independent’s Andrea Blanco has the story:

Christopher Darnell Jones Sr, the father of 22-year-old University of Virginia mass shooting suspect Christopher Darnell Jones, has spoken out after his son’s arrest, saying he seemed “paranoid” ahead of the attack.

On Sunday, Mr Jones allegedly shot at a bus filled with University of Virginia football players on their way back from a field trip, killing three.

Police searched for Mr Jones for more than 12 hours before taking him into custody.

His father told NBC12 that he was still adjusting to his son’s alleged actions and arrest.

“I can’t believe it was him,” he said. “I still can’t believe it now.”

The Independent’s Graig Graziosi has the story:

In a 2018 profile from the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Mr Jones characterised his parents’ divorce as being “traumatic” as his father left when he was five years old and didn’t return until he was a teen.

“My dad and me were really close. It just hurt me when he had to leave,” he said. “That was one of the most traumatic things that happened to me in my life. I didn’t understand why he left. When I went to school, people didn’t understand me.”

But when he was in the classroom, where he would easily be getting As in the courses he excelled in, that’s where he felt at home.

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

Johanna Chisholm has the story:

UVA Police Chief Tim Longo revealed on Monday that Mr Jones had been investigated in connection to an alleged hazing incident but the inquiry fell apart after witnesses did not come forward with information.

It is unclear whether Mr Jones was thought to be a victim or the attacker in the investigation, but his father has since said that “some people were giving him a hard time.”

The team learned that Mr Jones had violated protocol by not informing the university about a criminal incident in February 2021 in which he had been involved. The criminal investigation took place outside of Charlottesville and was in relation to a concealed weapon violation, NBC reported.

“He’s required as a student at the University of Virginia to report that and he never did, so the University has taken appropriate administrative charges through the University’s judiciary council and that matter is still pending adjudication,” Mr Longo said.

Candlelit vigils were held Monday night at the Charlottesville campus of the University of Virginia, where only one day earlier the entire student body was put on lockdown after a student had opened fire on a bus arriving back from a field trip.

Hundreds of students and university community members, including athletes mourning their fellow football teammates, gathered at the campus’s south lawn carrying candles. Many exchanged hugs while some could be seen crying, still visibly shaken from the event that had sent their campus into lockdown for nearly 12 hours.

Three students – D’Sean Perry, Lavel Davis Jr, and Devin Chandler – were killed in the violence

Late on Sunday night, just hours before he would be fatally wounded by a shooter who went on a rampage on the University of Virginia campus, Lavel Davis Jr was posting on his social media feed, sharing posts from professional football players who had successfully made the leap from NCAA to NFL.

Friends and fellow students shared memories about Davis in the comment section of his last post, mourning the loss of the wide receiver, who had made a comeback to the UVA football team after suffering an injury in 2021.

UVA Police Chief Tim Longo was holding a live-streamed news briefing on Monday when he was informed by a captain that Christopher Darnell Jones, 22, had been taken into custody in connection to the shooting at the university’s main campus in Charlottesville on Sunday night.

“We just received information the suspect is in custody,” Mr Longo said at the presser. “Just giving a moment to thank God and breathe a sigh of relief.”

Mr Jones’ arrest just after 11am local time was announced after warnings to the public that he was considered “armed and dangerous.” The manhunt plunged the university’s residences into lockdown as students and staff were commanded by UVA Police and the school administration to shelter in place and seek safety if they weren’t inside already.

The suspect was found about 75 miles from the UVA campus around 11am on Monday. He was taken into custody by Henrico County Police in Richmond.

A CBS reporter shared an interview with one of the UVA shooting’s fatal victims, Lavel Davis Jr, earlier this year,

In the interview, which was never aired, Mr Davis spoke of his teammates and the appreciation he felt for them.

“We all hang out together, we are all a big family,” he said at the time. “We’re trying to be the better in the nation, we’re all like a big family ... We welcome each other and it is like a real brotherhood.”

He added: “It’s all competition but we never that get in the way ... It is a good competition, we’re trying to push each other to chase our dreams.