Content warning: this article contains specific details related to Sunday’s incident and may be triggering for some readers.
The investigation into Sunday’s shooting, primarily led by Virginia State Police, remains ongoing, per a VSP statement. The investigation has confirmed that Jones, along with a professor and 22 other students, traveled to the Atlas Performing Arts Center in Washington, D.C. Sunday to attend a theater performance. The group returned to Charlottesville in a chartered bus around 10:15 p.m.
The statement details that after the bus stopped at Culbreth Garage, Jones produced a weapon and began firing as students were exiting. Jones fired additional rounds before exiting the bus himself and fleeing the scene on foot. Jones eventually left the area in his black Dodge Durango.
Second-year College student Devin Chandler and fourth-year College student D’Sean Perry succumbed to their injuries at the scene, while third-year College student Lavel Davis Jr. died from his injuries after being transported to U.Va. Health. All three were members of the Virginia football team.
Two other students, third-year College student Mike Hollins and second-year College student Marlee Morgan, were also shot and transported to U.Va. Health for treatment — Hollins for life-threatening and Morgan for non-life threatening injuries. Hollins has since undergone two surgeries.
According to the statement, Henrico County Police initiated a traffic stop in the 5700 block of Edgelawn St. around 11 a.m. Monday, almost 12 hours after the first shot was fired. Jones was taken into custody without incident.
State police have not commented on the motive behind the shooting. Jones was a walk-on member of the football team for one semester in 2018, though Athletic Director Carla Williams said she did not think Jones and the victims had overlapped.
Jones had previously come to the University’s attention after he was reported to the threat assessment team for alleged possession of a handgun. The threat assessment investigation also revealed that Jones had been involved in a prior criminal incident outside of Charlottesville in February 2021 involving a concealed weapon. Students are required to report such convictions while enrolled at the University, but Jones failed to do so.
A handgun has also been recovered near the area where the shooting occurred, but no firearms were recovered inside the bus.
A search warrant executed on Jones’ Charlottesville residence recovered a rifle and a handgun. All firearms have been turned over as evidence to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The investigation remains ongoing with the assistance of the University Police Department, Albemarle County Commonwealth’s Attorney, Albemarle County Police, Charlottesville Police Department, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia, the Office of the Virginia Attorney General, the ATF and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Jones made his first appearance at court Wednesday.
University President Jim Ryan and Rector of the Board of Visitors Whitt Clement have also requested that Attorney General Jason Miyares appoint a special counsel to conduct an independent, external review of the University’s response to Sunday’s events and its assessment of the Jones prior to the tragedy.
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