UVA suspected shooter had guns, ammunition in his dorm room

On Sunday night, three University of Virginia students were killed, and two were injured in a shooting on Culbreth Road. The campus went on lockdown for 12 hours while police searched for the suspected shooter.

Christopher Darnell Jones Jr. was caught Monday after 11 a.m. and has been charged with three counts of second-degree murder and using a handgun in commission of a felony, and two counts of malicious wounding.

As national and local media ask tough questions and cover the shooting and its aftermath, here’s a curated list of some of the news.

• The Washington Post has new details about the shooting at UVA on Sunday night from a student who was on the bus. Just a warning, this one is tough to read.
• The Daily Progress is reporting that the Virginia State Police, which is taking the lead on the investigation, found more guns, including a semi-automatic rifle, ammunition and other accessories in Jones’s dorm room. Dance’s Sporting Goods in Colonial Heights, Virginia, near Petersburg, told media that Jones legally purchased a rifle and pistol this year. UVA does not allow weapons on its property, however.
• More details are emerging about the university’s own investigation of Jones, a student and former UVA football player. Their investigation began in mid-September, two months before Jones allegedly shot and killed three UVA football players and injured two other students, one of whom is also on the football team. NBC News is reporting that UVA’s Office of Student Affairs was supposed to escalate the case about two weeks ago but never did.
• The Cavalier Daily reports that UVA is requesting that the state attorney general appoint special counsel to conduct an independent review of their response to the shooting and the way its threat assessment team handled Jones’ case. Jones made his first court appearance Wednesday and will be assigned a public defender for a hearing scheduled Dec. 8. Until then, he’s being held at the regional jail.
• There will be a memorial service for the three students who died in the shooting, D’Sean Perry, Lavel Davis Jr. and Devin Chandler, on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. at John Paul Jones Arena. It’s open to the public and will also be live streamed.
• Last but not least, C-VILLE Weekly has a report that highlights the way students who have experienced gun violence at schools have organized to care for themselves and their communities. Colin Goddard, who was shot four times in the Virginia Tech massacre of 2007 said, “It’s more important that students talk, not necessarily to experts, but it’s the talking that is what’s important.”

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