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The UVA shooting suspect is in custody after 3 football players were killed

  • By Emily Olson and Ayana Archie/ NPR
Updated November 14, 2022 at 11:39 AM ET

Three football players were killed and two more people were injured following a shooting at the University of Virginia on late Sunday night, campus police and university president Jim Ryan confirmed early Monday.

Police said the suspect, Chris Darnell Jones, was apprehended on Monday morning after a manhunt that lasted more than 12 hours and involved multiple law enforcement agencies, according to UVA Emergency Management.

The shooting occurred around 10:30 p.m. ET on a charter bus full of students returning from a field trip to see a play, the university president said in a press conference.

The three victims, Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr. and D’Sean Perry, were all students of the university and members of the football team. Police say they were found dead at the scene.

University officials have not yet released the names of two additional victims who are being treated for injuries; one is in critical condition.

Students and staff sheltered in place for roughly 12 hours

“This is an unimaginably sad day for our community,” Ryan said. “The entire university community is grieving this morning. My heart is broken for the victims and their families and for all who knew and loved them.”

Classes and extra-curricular activities were canceled Monday, and public transportation routes to campus were suspended. Public schools in the surrounding Albemarle County were also closed for the day.

A campus-wide shelter-in-place order was lifted just after 10:30 a.m. ET after a thorough search of the grounds.

UVA Police Chief Tim Longo said Jones will be charged with three counts of second-degree murder and three counts of using a handgun to commit a felony. The university did not provide information on where Jones was arrested.

Jones, who is a student at the university, was listed on the university’s athletics website as a football player in 2018, but did not appear in any games.

University of Idaho is also reeling from suspected homicides

The shooting is at least the second reported on a university campus this weekend.

On Sunday, police in Moscow, Idaho, said that four University of Idaho students were found dead in a home near the campus. Police investigating the incident have called the deaths suspected homicides.

“The Moscow Police Department gives our heartfelt condolences to family members, friends and the Moscow community,” police said in a statement.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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