A deadly Virginia shooting on Monday has sent shockwaves across America after it emerged that the shooter, Christopher Darnell Jones Jr, had left three football players dead and two wounded. The police immediately launched a manhunt and finally took the suspect into custody. According to university president Jim Ryan, those killed have been identified as Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr. and D’Sean Perry.
A report by CNN said that one of the two injured students had been identified as junior running back Michael Hollins.
Who Is Christopher Darnell Jones Jr.?
After the news of the mass shooting emerged, the police had imposed a lockdown in the area forcing about 500 people to shelter in classrooms and libraries.
The police arrested the suspect on Monday afternoon from Henrico County, about 80 miles east of Charlottesville. Several media reports suggested that Jones Jr. himself was a former football player and was facing disciplinary proceedings in his school after University of Virginia authorities learned that he had concealed information about claiming to possess a gun in the past.
It was only after the police took Jones Jr. into custody that the police have been forced to probe his past comments about claiming to own a gun. Several students had informed the authorities in September that the suspect claimed to possess a gun.
According to one UVA official, the suspect did not make the claim in conjunction with a threat.
However, the police have discovered that Jones Jr. was convicted in 2021 of a misdemeanor concealed weapons violation and received a 12-month suspended sentence and a small fine.
The suspect’s father said that his 22-year-old son was ‘real paranoid … about something. He wouldn’t tell me everything.’
Jones Jr. reportedly hails from Petersburg, which is situated in the south of Richmond. The suspect received his early education from Varina High School in Henrico County for three years. The suspect was reportedly a star football player and also the president of the Key Club. He was even declared the student of the year as a freshman and sophomore.
Religion, Girfriend
Not much information is available about Jones Jr.’s girlfriend or his religious faith.
