Virginia has decided to cancel its game against Coastal Carolina on Saturday after the tragic, senseless shooting deaths of players Lavel Davis Jr., D’Sean Perry and Devin Chandler, the school announced Wednesday morning.
No concrete decision has been made at this time on the season finale against Virginia Tech on November 26 in Blacksburg.
Davis, Perry, Chandler, running back Mike Hollins and another student were shot Sunday night after returning to the university from a class field trip to Washington D.C. Allegedly one of the victims was shot as he slept, according to prosecutors. Hollins survived but remains hospitalized after sustaining a gunshot wound to his back. The other student who survived is considered to be in good condition.
The suspected shooter is former Virginia football player Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., who was apprehended and put into custody by police on Monday. Jones, 22, was ordered by the judge to remain in custody and denied bail during a court hearing on Wednesday.
Jones is facing a bevy of charges which includes three counts of second-degree murder, two counts of malicious wounding and additional gun-related charges. Jones did not enter a plea Wednesday. Appearing on a video link from jail, Jones informed the judge that he intends to hire legal counsel, but the judge appointed a public defender to represent him for the time being.
The judge also scheduled a status hearing in the case for December 8.
UVA sophomore Ryan Lynch said she was on the bus when gunshots erupted.
“I was scared that with all the shots that were fired, he had shot everyone on the bus,” Lynch told ABC News. “So I thought he was going to shoot me, too.”
When asked if she had noticed any kind of animosity or tension between the shooter and the victims, Lynch said: “No. To my knowledge, they did not know him. The only thing is that they were on the football team.”
A motive is not known, according to University of Virginia President Jim Ryan.
In a press conference Tuesday, Virginia athletic director Carla Williams had stated her department would discuss with coach Tony Elliott and the program about playing Saturday’s game.
“Obviously, they’re going through a lot, and we want to make sure they’re involved as well. We’ll use our best judgment,” Williams said.
Coastal Carolina expressed support for the decision to cancel the game.
“As much as we love gameday and the spirit it brings, there is a time when the sanctity of life and sustaining of a community take precedence. This is one of those times,” Matt Hogue, Coastal Carolina’s vice president for intercollegiate athletics, said in a statement. “We fully support the decision and will continue offering our assistance and contribute however we can toward the healing of our friends and colleagues at UVA.”
Meanwhile, classes at Virginia were back in session Wednesday. However, undergraduates are not required to finish any graded assignments or take exams before Thanksgiving break, according to the university’s president. A campuswide event honoring the victims is in the planning stages, and Perry’s family released a statement sharing their grief over his death.
“Football and art was his passion, but the love that he had for his family, friends and his community was proven time and time again through his candid dedication,” the statement read. “We truly appreciate the outpouring of love and support from so many people. We continue to keep the families of the other victims of this senseless tragedy in our prayer.”
Gordon McKernan, a spokesperson for the Hollins family, also told ESPN’s Mark Schlabach that Hollins had emergency surgery Sunday night to remove a bullet from his stomach. Doctors performed a second surgery to check for internal injuries and were encouraged by what they found, McKernan said.
McKernan said doctors removed Hollins from a ventilator after the second surgery.
