3 UVA football players killed; suspect in custody

Good morning everybody. My identify is Jim Ryan and I’m the president of the University of Virginia. This is *** unhappy, surprising and tragic day for our U. V. *** group. I’ll describe briefly what we all know at this level after which flip issues over to Chief Longo. But earlier than I do this, let me say how deeply how deeply sorry I’m for the victims and for his or her household and buddies. Um so in phrases of what we all know as I discussed in an electronic mail we despatched out early this morning final evening at roughly 10:30 p.m. University police responded to *** name of photographs fired in the chilly breath parking storage space. The suspected shooter is U. V. *** pupil, Christopher Darnell jones Jr. Upon arrival on the scene, college police encountered a number of victims of gunshot wounds. The shootings occurred on *** bus full of scholars turning from *** subject journey. Three of the victims didn’t survive. They have been devin Chandler *** second yr from Virginia seashore, Virginia. Lovell Davis, *** third yr pupil from Ridgeville south Carolina And Sean Perry, 1/4 yr pupil from Miami Florida. All three have been members of the football group. Two different college students have been wounded and are being handled for accidents on the U. V. *** medical middle. One is in good situation, one is in vital situation in order to guard their privateness. We should not releasing their names at this second the households of all of the victims have been notified and the college is offering any and each obtainable help. I’ve spoken with 4 of the households and I spoke on to the scholar who’s in good situation legislation enforcement, together with college police, native legislation enforcement businesses in Virginia. State police proceed their seek for the suspect and won’t cease till he’s discovered. They have nevertheless, lifted the shelter in place order following an exhaustive constructing by constructing search of grounds and are assured that the suspect has left the realm lessons in all extracurricular actions have been canceled for immediately, together with the boys’s basketball video games scheduled for this night. Although we don’t but have *** full understanding of the motive and circumstances surrounding these occasions. Police are investigating as we communicate. We will proceed to maintain the group notified of developments through our emergency alert system and additional group extensive emails. I’m grateful to legislation enforcement for his or her response and to our group for facilitating their work with what I notice has been *** lengthy shelter in place order. This is an unimaginably unhappy day for our group. The complete college group is grieving this morning. My coronary heart is damaged for the victims and their households and for all who those that knew and beloved them and they’re all in my prayers as I’ve mentioned earlier than once I see our college students, I see my very own youngsters and I can’t think about something worse for *** mother or father than to lose *** little one. Please know we are going to do all the pieces. We can to honor their lives and can come collectively quickly as *** group to mourn these losses. In the meantime, should you need assistance, particularly our college students, please do not hesitate to achieve out to the sources listed in the e-mail I despatched early this morning and please attain out to one another and lend one another and ear and the shoulder, even when nearly that is an awfully tough day for our group and we have to consolation and help one another and people closest to the victims of this horrendous taking pictures, Thank you. And now I’d like to show it over to Chief Longo. Thank you. President Ryan. Um, thank all of you for for assembling in right here this afternoon and giving us the chance to inform what occurred during the last a number of hours and maybe even reply a few of your questions. I’ll say from the very starting, there can be questions that may don’t have any solutions and cease as a result of I do not wish to inform you, it is as a result of we simply do not know. So I hope you will be affected person with that and belief that once we do know, you will know this has been an extremely lengthy night, very tragic circumstances for our college group, for the town of Charlottesville, the county Valdemar, the commonwealth, particularly tragic for um, *** small variety of households who we needed to break some actually dangerous information too. And um, a few of you tried to achieve out by all through the night and we did not take your calls. I apologize for that a number of of you may even acquired hung up on in the midst of of chaos. And so I apologize for that as effectively When this name got here out simply after 10:00 final evening, about 10:16 and we knew the circumstances. We instantly initiated an emergency alert. Everyone with *** you through electronic mail tackle and *** cellphone quantity that we have now entry to, will get that alert. And that alert is distributed out by our workplace of emergency administration. It’s up to date each quarter-hour, which as a lot as a lot data as we will present. And Since 1016, up till nearly half-hour in the past, our college students have been sheltered the place they have been and greater than 500 of them have been sheltered in buildings all through grounds, learning in libraries, lecture rooms and different locations. Um they usually’ve cooperated with the directive that they acquired and we’re very grateful for that as effectively. And uh, thankfully we have been capable of carry that alert as President Ryan talked about. We uh due to the partnership of our metropolis of Charlottesville, Partners County of Al tomorrow, the Virginia State Police, our federal companions, the ***. T. F. The FBI, the U. S. Marshal service host of legislation enforcement officers who got here to us to assist safe *** scene, seek for proof, course of that scene for proof and now safe our grounds. While we did the exhaustive search to the easiest of our talents. We’re fairly assured that the individual answerable for this tragedy isn’t on our grounds however make no mistake about it. We will discover him wherever he’s and produce the sources of each federal legislation enforcement company in this nation who has the capability and the flexibility to search for him past our boundaries. And if he is in the commonwealth of Virginia, the folks which are standing behind me will interact in that search as effectively. The our bodies of Devon and Sean as President Ryan indicated have been discovered inside *** constitution bus the place that they had been for the day, having fun with college exercise, having *** meal collectively and coming again to our grounds and somebody amongst them selected to do an act of violence and we discovered them lifeless inside that bus. And for hours we needed to course of *** crime scene. And I do know I haven’t got to inform you how tough that’s for *** household to not know, to see electronic mail chatter and social media and we did our greatest to attempt to sustain with that to let folks know what we knew and what we have been attempting to do. And hopefully now that we have caught up, we’ll be capable to proceed to share that message to the various households throughout this world which have younger folks right here at our college to allow them to know that that there their younger persons are okay and that there can be folks right here for a lot of days to maintain them, this sturdy legislation enforcement presence that you’ve got in all probability seen on our grounds for the final a number of hours represented by the company’s behind me will keep right here till we’re fairly comfy that that um this individual is in custody. Well in addition to our native state and federal companions however the abilities and abilities of our colleagues in the medical middle um who’ve been with us all through this journey and can stay with us for the 2 college students that we have now there uh in search of remedy. We deeply admire um their efforts as effectively. We’ve secured arrest warrants for Mr jones. We’ve charged him with three counts of second diploma homicide and we charged him with three counts of utilizing *** handgun in the fee of *** felony. Those info and circumstances have been reviewed by *** judicial officer and people are the costs that have been proffered. There comes *** level in time that these prices should be amended in sure info and circumstances come up that may trigger us to do this. We’ll do this however we’ll do this by the recommendation and counsel of of our uh commonwealth’s legal professional. And did the extent federal legislation applies. Uh the officer of the United States Attorney for the Western District. Mr Kavanaugh was current right here immediately. I wish to provide you with *** description of of Mr jones. He is described as *** black male. He was born on November the nineteenth 1999 when he was final seen on our grounds. He was carrying *** burgundy jacket, blue denims and purple sneakers. We consider he is driving *** black suv bearing Virginia registration T. As in tango W. S. And whiskey. X. Is an X ray 3580 T. W. X. 3580. We implore anybody who’s on our highways and byways who ought to see that automobile bearing that tag to name 911 instantly and report his whereabouts. Try to maintain that automobile in sight. We consider maybe that Mr jones stays armed and he is to be thought of harmful and handled accordingly. I wish to share some data with you um as a result of I wish to be clear with you, I need you to know what what I do know to the extent I can share that data. This afternoon, Mr jones got here to the eye of the University of Virginia’s risk evaluation group In the autumn of 2022. Back in September of 2022. Our Office of Student Affairs reported to the Multidisciplinary risk evaluation group that Mr jones, they acquired data that Mr jones had made *** remark about possessing *** gun To *** person who was unaffiliated with the college. In different phrases, the third occasion that reporting individual once more unaffiliated with the college to the most effective of our data. You by no means noticed *** gun. The remark about Mr jones proudly owning *** gun was not made in conjunction with any threats. The reverse Student Affairs adopted up with the reporting individual and made efforts to contact Mr jones. In truth they adopted up with Mr jones roommate who didn’t report seeing the presence of *** weapon, pardon me, Thank you, captain we simply acquired data, the suspect is in custody. Just want *** second to thank God, breathe *** sigh of aid. Mr jones additionally had come to the eye of *** risk evaluation group as a result of he was concerned in *** *** hazing investigation of some kind. I do not know the info and circumstances, that investigation, I do know that uh, it was finally closed as a consequence of uh witnesses that might not cooperate with the method. But by the course of the risk evaluation groups investigation, we realized of *** prior legal incident involving *** hid weapon violation that occurred exterior the town of Charlottesville in February of 2021. What’s fascinating about that case is he is he is required as *** pupil on the University of Virginia to report that and he by no means did. And so the college has taken applicable administrative prices by the college’s Judiciary Council and that matter continues to be pending adjudication. Thought it necessary to share that data with you to let you recognize that. Um he had been referred to as to our consideration and to reply any questions you may need about that. I need you to listen to that. I need you to listen to that from me, not hear it from another person. So, I’ll cease there and uh, we’ll take any questions that you simply may need *** couple questions Chief or president are you able to focus on? Uh, what, the place the hell was going? The affiliation of the folks that have been on that bus and on that subject journey. Uh And if the suspect that tripped or stepped onto the bus, Thank you for the query. The data we have now right now is that the sphere journey was related to the category and the um people which have been named have been a part of that journey um To see *** play that’s to see *** play related to the category. So it was *** class subject journey. I don’t have these particulars. I don’t, I’m sorry, I don’t. We’re in search of out all the that data as you’ll be able to think about. The college students are fairly traumatized by the tragic occasions. Do not have the precise location. We are finalizing all of that. So the play was in Washington D. C. I’ve not been shared that data but and it’ll come *** level in time once we will share that data, I’m positive, however now isn’t probably the most applicable time. Who are you in the three? Um We’re not releasing details about the sufferers who’re nonetheless in the hospital right now. I am unable to communicate for pupil affairs. Uh the University Police Department had no contact him with this. University Police division is certainly one of many individuals that is on that multidisciplinary risk evaluation group and we offer a number of the background with respect to people to return earlier than that group. But to my data, we didn’t have any contact with Mr jones with regard to that incident. Get on the bus. My understanding is ballpark about 25, how he acquired away, how he was, do not understand how he he acquired away or the way it was that he fled the scene. And I haven’t got data with respect to how he was apprehended. What led to the we’re in the method of doing that now. Not right now when And the place did the sufferer die? Two have been discovered lifeless on the bus. The third sufferer was transported to the medical middle and died there. Do we all know Mr jones’s standing? At one level he was on the football group, He was nonetheless *** pupil right here as of this morning. Was he nonetheless affiliated with the football group? Um, he was nonetheless *** pupil, however to my data, he was not on the football group and hadn’t been on the group for over *** yr. The two different victims have been college students. I do not know to what extent that they had *** relationship with him. I do not know that for positive, you personally, have been concerned with so many tragedies which have occurred right here. If you would simply speak about should you’ve been capable of course of these emotions in any respect what this group has been by over the previous decade or so, and the way this impacts all of that. I do not know that I’ve actually had time to course of that. Uh, to the extent that you simply communicate of, I can inform you that the folks stand behind which are standing behind me now. It speaks for itself how we get by these items. Um These uh these businesses which are represented right here have been on these grounds in a short time. I’ll attempt to do higher subsequent time. That’s all I’ve for proper now. We cannot do that alone and we clearly have not and we discovered on campus, off campus not less than, or the place he is in custody. Well, I can inform you to the most effective of my data. He was not discovered on campus. I can’t inform you the place he was situated, or the place he was taken into custody or the place he is situated now.