Three football players killed in fatal University of Virginia shooting, suspect in custody

A suspect has been captured in relation to a fatal shooting at the University of Virginia on Sunday. Police took 22-year-old Christopher Darnell Jones Jr. in custody and charged him with murder on Monday after three members of the University of Virginia football team were fatally shot at a parking garage on campus; two others were injured.

According to The Washington Post, Jones was a freshman on the football team in 2018 but allegedly did not appear at any games. Officials noted that the students shot at were all on the same bus “full of students” returning from a field trip, and while the motive has not yet been determined, the students were all once teammates.

The deceased students were identified as Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr., and D'Sean Perry, UVA President Jim Ryan said during a press conference. The two others who were injured were not identified.

“This is a sad, shocking and tragic day for our UVA community,” Ryan said at a press conference Monday. “Let me say how deeply sorry I am for the victims and for their family and friends.”

“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,” Ryan wrote in an open letter shared on social media. “This is a traumatic incident for everyone in our community.”

Prior to taking Jones into custody, the university's emergency management issued an alert on Twitter of an "active attacker firearm."

"People have been locked down in libraries all night. Everyone (is) definitely shaken up," Luke, a student who preferred that his last name be withheld for privacy reasons, told USA TODAY in an email. "We are in deep prayer for the victims and for their families right now."

Late Monday morning, the shelter-in-place order was lifted after a "thorough search" on and around the campus, police said.

"There has been a shooting on Culbreth Road and the suspect is at large and considered armed and dangerous," Ryan said in a tweet.

According to USA TODAY, Jones faces three counts of second-degree murder and three counts of using a handgun to commit a felony, UVA Police Chief Tim Longo said. This incident was also not the first time Jones caught the attention of the police: He attracted attention in September as well after someone reported he commented about having a gun, but no reports were made as no one actually saw him with a weapon.

Several elected officials in Virginia also spoke about the shooting on social media.

"This morning, Suzanne and I are praying for the UVA community," Gov. Glenn Youngkin said on Twitter, referring to his wife, Suzanne Youngkin.

"Heartbroken to hear of another Virginia community devastated by gun violence," Sen. Tim Kaine said in a tweet. "Praying for the UVA community and closely monitoring the situation."

Across the country, mass shootings have increased amid debates on gun control and legislation. According to CNN, at least 68 shootings have occurred nationwide including on 15 college campuses. To this day, the deadliest school shooting in U.S. history remains the 2007 attack at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, where a 23-year-old student killed 32 people before dying by suicide.