Police and the university's president announced that a manhunt is underway for a University of Virginia student accused of killing three people and injuring two others late Sunday at the school's main campus in Charlottesville, where students and others are still under lockdown.
Christopher Darnell Jones, Jr., an ex-football player thought to be armed and dangerous, is being sought by police teams on the ground and by air Monday morning, according to university president Jim Ryan and police. Darnell is thought to be driving a black SUV with the license number TWX3580 and is described as wearing a burgundy jacket, blue trousers, and red shoes.
"The UVA campus is still being searched by law authorities. Keep your shelter in place. Around 7:30 a.m. ET, UVA Police tweeted, "Expect increased law enforcement presence." Charlottesville City Schools and the university's Monday classes are canceled, the K-12 district announced in a letter to families.
The UVA Police Department is looking for Christopher Darnell Jones regarding the shooting incident that occurred on the grounds of the University of Virginia. Call 911 if seen, do not approach. pic.twitter.com/mKcxF6ksxw
— UVA Police Department (@UVAPolice) November 14, 2022
A shooting was reported on Culbreth Road at 10:40 p.m., and the University of Virginia Police Department tweeted that a shelter-in-place order had been issued. In their original tweet, police identified the shooting site as a parking garage, which is close to the band building, the fine arts library, and the school of architecture in addition to being across the street from the university's theatrical building.
A reason for the attack has not been given by the police.
The victims' identities and whether or not they were students have not been released by university officials. Ryan claimed that the two victims were receiving medical attention and expressed his shock that "this brutality has struck the University of Virginia."
According to CNN, there have been at least 68 shootings on US school grounds this year, including 15 on college campuses, with at least one victim (not counting the shooter) being injured in each incident. The 2007 massacre at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, where a 23-year-old student killed 32 people before committing suicide, continues to be the bloodiest school shooting in recent US history.
According to the Gun Violence Archive, which like CNN counts incidents in which at least four people are shot—excluding the shooter—the shooting at the Charlottesville campus is one of roughly 600 mass shootings that have occurred in the US this year.
On UVA's athletics website, the suspect is described as a football player from 2018 who didn't play in any games as a freshman. Jones played football as a linebacker and a running back at Varina High School and Petersburg High School, according to his university athletics biography. According to his biography, Jones served as Key Club president in high school and was a member of both the National Technical Honor Society and the National Honor Society.
Police on Monday secure the crime scene of an overnight shooting at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.
‘Immediately seek safety,’ school VP warns students
In an email to UVA's student body sent early on Monday, vice president and chief student affairs officer Robyn Hadley advised students to "take the shelter-in-place directives seriously as the situation continues ongoing."
Hadley stated, "We have all received a number of shelter-in-place texts, and they are terrifying," adding that numerous police jurisdictions were searching for the perpetrator. "Like many of you, I am sheltered on campus. I am in contact with University leadership and UPD directly. Immediately seek safety if you are not inside.
Glenn Youngkin, the governor of Virginia, posted on Twitter that he and his wife are praying for the school community and that the Virginia State Police are "completely collaborating" with local and school police. While the police search for the suspect, kindly remain indoors.
Meanwhile, the University of Idaho in Idaho is in turmoil after authorities declared a homicide investigation after discovering four bodies in a residence near the Moscow campus on Sunday. The institution acknowledged the victims were students and said there was no longer a threat, but the cause of their deaths is yet unknown.
The University of Virginia's most recent prominent incident of violence occurred on Sunday. In August 2017, white nationalists marched through the campus while brandishing torches and yelling hate speech. A day later, there were clashes between protesters and counterprotesters over Charlottesville's decision to remove a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. During one of the clashes, a protester was killed when a driver of a car plowed into the crowd. The driver is currently serving a life sentence.
Five years earlier, a UVA lacrosse player was found guilty and given a 23-year prison term for killing his ex-girlfriend Yeardley Love in her off-campus apartment in 2010.
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