Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., the suspect in Sunday’s UVA shooting, has been denied bail after killing three UVA football players on a school bus full of students. The group had just returned from a school field trip when Jones opened fire, and while the investigation continues, a motive has yet to be found.
According to one of the students on the bus at the time, Jones pushed one of the football players before the shooting began. The student went on to explain how bizarre the situation was, adding the three victims weren’t talking to or harassing the victim before things took an unexpected turn for the worse.
The three victims were identified as Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr., and D’Sean Perry – all of whom were in the midst of their junior season with the Virginia Cavaliers football team. As for Christoper Jones Jr., he was a former UVA football player who last played for the team in 2018 – during his freshman year.
Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time Jones Jr. has been involved with the police. In 2021, he was charged and convicted of crimes on two separate occasions. The first was reckless driving and hit and run, while the second was a misdemeanor weapons violation – Jones Jr. received suspended sentences for both.
At the time of the shooting, Jones was facing disciplinary action from his school after failing to disclose the two convictions. His case was escalated on October 27th, just a few weeks before the shooting. According to the campus, Jones refused to cooperate with their investigation on several occasions.
We’re also learning more about the guns he owned. According to a local gun shop owner, Jones purchased two weapons in 2022 – a Ruger AR-556 in February and a Glock 45 in July. He tried to purchase guns in 2018 and 2021 but was denied both times – including failing a background check.
In addition to the three football players, who were killed in the shooting, Jones Jr. injured two other students – one of which was a junior running back at the school and was intubated, but stable as of Tuesday morning. Luckily, none of the other students on the bus at the time were injured or killed.
Suspect Facing a Slew of Charges After Killing 3 in UVA Shooting
According to UVA Police Chief Tim Longo, the court system will have its work cut out for them when his trial starts – which is to be announced. He’s facing three counts of second-degree murder and three counts of using a handgun in the commission of a felony – one count for each of the victims he killed.
Not only that, but he’s facing two counts of malicious wounding and two counts of a firearm charge for the two people he injured in the UVA shooting. He recently made his first court appearance, which resulted in Jones Jr. being denied bail. He’s currently being held at the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail.
As of right now, Jones Jr. has been assigned a public defender and will await his next hearing, which is being scheduled for December. What many people are dying to learn is the motive for killing the three football players – the shooter had an opportunity to kill plenty more students, but only targeted the three.
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What we do know is that Christopher Darnell Jones Jr. was acting “real paranoid … about something. He wouldn’t tell me everything,” according to his father. The only thing his son told him was that several people were picking on him and he wasn’t sure how to handle it – those claims have yet to be confirmed.