UVA Shooting: Former student pleads guilty to killing 3 football players in 2022

an old one University of Virginia student pleaded guilty Wednesday to the deadly 2022 campus attack that killed three football players and injured two others.

Christopher Darnell Jones Jr.The 25-year-old pleaded guilty to three counts of first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated malicious wounding and five counts of felony use of a firearm.

Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 4 in Albemarle County Circuit Court; where Jones faces up to 20 years in prison for each murder charge.

What do we know?

Authorities said Jones opened fire on a bus returning to campus after a group trip to Washington, D.C. Football players Lavel Davis Jr., D’Sean Perry and Devin Chandler were killed in a shooting near a parking lot.

Two others, teammate Mike Hollins and student Marlee Morgan, were also injured.

The incident led to a 12-hour campus lockdown in which students hid in laboratories, dorms and other buildings until Jones was captured.

University of Virginia response

UVA President Jim Ryan called the guilty plea “another step in a long and painful journey” for the victims’ families and the university community.

“We continue to grieve the loss of three beloved members of our community and the injuries sustained by others on the bus,” Ryan said in a statement. he said.

The university requested an independent review of its security protocols and previous threat assessment processes regarding Jones.

In June 2024, UVA agreed to a $9 million settlement with the victims’ families, paying $2 million to the families of each student who died and $3 million to the two surviving students.

Jones’ sentencing in February will mark the conclusion of a case that has devastated the UVA community. The cause of the conflict remains unclear.