Albemarle County Commonwealth’s Attorney James Hingley said a witness who was given a photo of the shooting suspect, Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., identified him as the gunman. The violence on Sunday night left three football players dead and one player and another student injured. The suspect, a former soccer player, appeared via video from a local jail for Wednesday’s arraignment. He did not elaborate on the numerous charges he faces and said he plans to hire an attorney. A judge ordered him held without bail and appointed a public defender to represent him until he secures a private attorney. University officials and police said the 22-year-old suspect joined a group of about a dozen others on a field trip Sunday from the Charlottesville campus to see a performance in the nation’s capital, about 120 miles away. When their bus returned to campus, authorities said the suspect opened fire, killing Lavel Davis Jr., D’Sean Perry and Devin Chandler. From left, college football players Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr. and D’Sean Perry are seen in a composite photo of undated images provided by University of Virginia Athletics. University of Virginia Athletics via AP A witness told police the suspect pointed the gun at Chandler, shot him as he slept, and Chandler slid to the floor, Hingley said. The witness said the suspect was “targeting certain people” and was not shooting randomly, according to Hingley. Responding officers found Chandler and Perry dead in the bus, Hingeley said. Davis died from his injuries at a hospital, he said. The public defender assigned to represent the suspect did not comment on the substance of the charges Wednesday. He also declined to comment outside court. The judge set a December status hearing for the case. Authorities said the suspect was able to flee the scene of the shooting, setting off a manhunt and a 12-hour campus lockdown before being taken into custody elsewhere in the state late Monday morning. The suspect faces three counts of second-degree murder, two counts of malicious wounding and additional gun-related charges. The violence at the state’s flagship public university has prompted days of mourning among students and faculty, the greater Charlottesville community and other supporters. Classes resumed on Wednesday. University President Jim Ryan said Monday that authorities did not have a “full understanding” of the motive behind the shooting. Court documents filed so far in the matter have offered no additional insight, and Hingley did not mention a possible motive Wednesday. In a video statement posted on Facebook Wednesday night, Ryan said “it’s possible, and maybe likely, that we’ll never find a single thing that explains this. We also may never really understand why this happened.” Ryan said the school is “inviting an external review regarding the university’s interactions with the suspect and whether we did everything we could have done to prevent or avoid this tragedy.” Flowers are left outside Scott Stadium at an impromptu memorial for three slain University of Virginia football players on Nov. 14, 2022, in Charlottesville, Virginia. Win McNamee/Getty Images Also Wednesday, the school announced it has canceled its final home game of the season scheduled for Saturday against Coastal Carolina. Ryan said Wednesday night that a memorial service would instead be held Saturday “to honor the lives” of the three slain football players, along with the other two students who were injured. In announcing the cancellation, the university said in a press release that a decision has not yet been made on whether UVA will participate in the final game of the season on Nov. 26 against Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. The suspect was a member of the football team during the 2018 season, a six-month walk-on, according to athletics director Carla Williams. In interviews, his father has expressed confusion and surprise and apologized to the victims’ families. Of the two students who were treated, one was released from the medical center Tuesday, according to Eric Swensen, a health system spokesman. Family members of Mike Hollins, who is returning to the team, said he underwent a second surgery on Tuesday. In her first television interview since the shooting, Hollins’ mother, Brenda Hollins, told CBS News that her son still doesn’t know that three of his friends and teammates were killed. In court Wednesday, Hingeley also looked into the suspect’s past criminal record. In February 2021, he was charged in Chesterfield County with carrying a concealed weapon without a permit and later given a 12-month suspended sentence, Hingley said. At the time of the arrest, the suspect had two outstanding warrants in connection with a hit-and-run accident with property damage and reckless driving out of Petersburg. He was convicted of both charges and also given a 12-month suspended sentence on both, Hingley said. The university said the suspect’s failure to report his misdemeanor conviction for carrying a concealed weapon was the subject of an ongoing review by its threat assessment team. The university initially said its office of student affairs had escalated the suspect’s case in late October to the University Justice Committee, a student-run body that could have imposed disciplinary action. But late Tuesday night, a spokesperson confirmed the university had not escalated the report and was working to do so.

title: “Uva Shooting Suspect Shot Victim While He Slept Appeared To Be Targeting Certain People Prosecutor Says " ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-19” author: “Lorrie Arnold”

Albemarle County Commonwealth’s Attorney James Hingley said a witness who was given a photo of the shooting suspect, Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., identified him as the gunman. The violence on Sunday night left three football players dead and one player and another student injured. The suspect, a former soccer player, appeared via video from a local jail for Wednesday’s arraignment. He did not elaborate on the numerous charges he faces and said he plans to hire an attorney. A judge ordered him held without bail and appointed a public defender to represent him until he secures a private attorney. University officials and police said the 22-year-old suspect joined a group of about a dozen others on a field trip Sunday from the Charlottesville campus to see a performance in the nation’s capital, about 120 miles away. When their bus returned to campus, authorities said the suspect opened fire, killing Lavel Davis Jr., D’Sean Perry and Devin Chandler. From left, college football players Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr. and D’Sean Perry are seen in a composite photo of undated images provided by University of Virginia Athletics. University of Virginia Athletics via AP A witness told police the suspect pointed the gun at Chandler, shot him as he slept, and Chandler slid to the floor, Hingley said. The witness said the suspect was “targeting certain people” and was not shooting randomly, according to Hingley. Responding officers found Chandler and Perry dead in the bus, Hingeley said. Davis died from his injuries at a hospital, he said. The public defender assigned to represent the suspect did not comment on the substance of the charges Wednesday. He also declined to comment outside court. The judge set a December status hearing for the case. Authorities said the suspect was able to flee the scene of the shooting, setting off a manhunt and a 12-hour campus lockdown before being taken into custody elsewhere in the state late Monday morning. The suspect faces three counts of second-degree murder, two counts of malicious wounding and additional gun-related charges. The violence at the state’s flagship public university has prompted days of mourning among students and faculty, the greater Charlottesville community and other supporters. Classes resumed on Wednesday. University President Jim Ryan said Monday that authorities did not have a “full understanding” of the motive behind the shooting. Court documents filed so far in the matter have offered no additional insight, and Hingley did not mention a possible motive Wednesday. In a video statement posted on Facebook Wednesday night, Ryan said “it’s possible, and maybe likely, that we’ll never find a single thing that explains this. We also may never really understand why this happened.” Ryan said the school is “inviting an external review regarding the university’s interactions with the suspect and whether we did everything we could have done to prevent or avoid this tragedy.” Flowers are left outside Scott Stadium at an impromptu memorial for three slain University of Virginia football players on Nov. 14, 2022, in Charlottesville, Virginia. Win McNamee/Getty Images Also Wednesday, the school announced it has canceled its final home game of the season scheduled for Saturday against Coastal Carolina. Ryan said Wednesday night that a memorial service would instead be held Saturday “to honor the lives” of the three slain football players, along with the other two students who were injured. In announcing the cancellation, the university said in a press release that a decision has not yet been made on whether UVA will participate in the final game of the season on Nov. 26 against Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. The suspect was a member of the football team during the 2018 season, a six-month walk-on, according to athletics director Carla Williams. In interviews, his father has expressed confusion and surprise and apologized to the victims’ families. Of the two students who were treated, one was released from the medical center Tuesday, according to Eric Swensen, a health system spokesman. Family members of Mike Hollins, who is returning to the team, said he underwent a second surgery on Tuesday. In her first television interview since the shooting, Hollins’ mother, Brenda Hollins, told CBS News that her son still doesn’t know that three of his friends and teammates were killed. In court Wednesday, Hingeley also looked into the suspect’s past criminal record. In February 2021, he was charged in Chesterfield County with carrying a concealed weapon without a permit and later given a 12-month suspended sentence, Hingley said. At the time of the arrest, the suspect had two outstanding warrants in connection with a hit-and-run accident with property damage and reckless driving out of Petersburg. He was convicted of both charges and also given a 12-month suspended sentence on both, Hingley said. The university said the suspect’s failure to report his misdemeanor conviction for carrying a concealed weapon was the subject of an ongoing review by its threat assessment team. The university initially said its office of student affairs had escalated the suspect’s case in late October to the University Justice Committee, a student-run body that could have imposed disciplinary action. But late Tuesday night, a spokesperson confirmed the university had not escalated the report and was working to do so.