CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — A fatal shooting at a University of Virginia parking garage killed three people wounded two others and sent police on a manhunt Monday in search of a student suspected in the attack, officials said.
Classes at the school were canceled Monday a day after the shooting and the Charlottesville campus seemed deserted as authorities searched for the suspect, who University of Virginia President Jim Ryan identified as Christopher Darnell Jones Jr.
UVa football players Lavel Davis Jr. and D’Sean Perry were two of the victims killed in the shooting, according to reports.
In a letter to the university posted on social media, Ryan said the shooting happened around 10:30 p.m. Sunday.
The university’s emergency management issued an alert Sunday night notifying the campus community of an “active attacker firearm.” The message warned students to shelter in place following a report of shots fired on Culbreth Road on the northern outskirts of campus.
Access to the shooting scene was blocked by police vehicles Monday morning. The city and campus were far quieter than normal, with only a smattering of traffic and dog-walkers.
The UVA Police Department posted a notice online saying multiple police agencies including the state police were searching for a suspect who was considered “armed and dangerous.”
In his letter to campus, the university president said Jones was suspected to have committed the shooting and that he was a student, who was still at large Monday morning.
“This is a message any leader hopes never to have to send, and I am devastated that this violence has visited the University of Virginia,” Ryan wrote. “This is a traumatic incident for everyone in our community.”
Sydney Shuler / The (Charlottesville) Daily Progress
Emergency vehicles at the intersection of Culbreth and Ivy Roads, where an active shooter was reported shortly before 11 p.m. Sunday.
The university’s emergency management Twitter account said shortly before 7 a.m. Monday that “a complete search on and around UVA Grounds” by law enforcement was underway and urged people on campus to remain sheltered.
Eva Surovell, 21, the editor in chief of the student newspaper, The Cavalier Daily, said that after students received an alert about an active shooter late Sunday night, she ran to the parking garage, but saw that it was blocked off by police. When she went to a nearby intersection, she was told to go shelter in place.
“A police officer told me that the shooter was nearby and I needed to return home as soon as possible,” she said.
She waited with other reporters, hoping to get additional details, then returned to her room to start working on the story. The gravity of the situation sunk in.
“My generation is certainly one that’s grown up with generalized gun violence, but that doesn’t make it any easier when it’s your own community,” she said.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said agents were responding to the campus to assist in the investigation.
On April 16, 2007, another Virginia university was the scene of what was then one of the deadliest shootings in U.S. history. Twenty-seven students and five faculty members at Virginia Tech were gunned down by Seung-Hui Cho, a 23-year-old mentally ill student who later died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
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AP file
COLUMBINE HIGH SCHOOL, April 1999: Two students killed 12 of their peers and one teacher at the school in Littleton, Colorado, and injured many others before killing themselves.
AP file
COLUMBINE HIGH SCHOOL, April 1999: Two students killed 12 of their peers and one teacher at the school in Littleton, Colorado, and injured many others before killing themselves.
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AP file
RED LAKE HIGH SCHOOL, March 2005: A 16-year-old student killed his grandfather and the man's companion at their Minnesota home, then went to nearby Red Lake High School, where he killed five students, a teacher and a security guard before shooting himself.
AP file
RED LAKE HIGH SCHOOL, March 2005: A 16-year-old student killed his grandfather and the man's companion at their Minnesota home, then went to nearby Red Lake High School, where he killed five students, a teacher and a security guard before shooting himself.
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The News & Advance, Chet White, file
VIRGINIA TECH, April 2007: A 23-year-old student killed 32 people on the campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, in April 2007; more than two dozen others were wounded. The gunman then killed himself.
The News & Advance, Chet White, file
VIRGINIA TECH, April 2007: A 23-year-old student killed 32 people on the campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, in April 2007; more than two dozen others were wounded. The gunman then killed himself.
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AP file
SANDY HOOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, December 2012: A 19-year-old man killed his mother at their home in Newtown, Connecticut, then went to the nearby Sandy Hook Elementary School and killed 20 first graders and six educators. He took his own life.
AP file
SANDY HOOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, December 2012: A 19-year-old man killed his mother at their home in Newtown, Connecticut, then went to the nearby Sandy Hook Elementary School and killed 20 first graders and six educators. He took his own life.
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AP file
UMPQUA COMMUNITY COLLEGE, October 2015: A man killed nine people at the school in Roseburg, Oregon, and wounded nine others, then killed himself.
AP file
UMPQUA COMMUNITY COLLEGE, October 2015: A man killed nine people at the school in Roseburg, Oregon, and wounded nine others, then killed himself.
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AP file
MARJORY STONEMAN DOUGLAS HIGH SCHOOL, February 2018: An attack left 14 students and three staff members dead at the school in Parkland, Florida, and injured many others. The 20-year-old suspect was charged with murder.
AP file
MARJORY STONEMAN DOUGLAS HIGH SCHOOL, February 2018: An attack left 14 students and three staff members dead at the school in Parkland, Florida, and injured many others. The 20-year-old suspect was charged with murder.
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AP file
SANTA FE HIGH SCHOOL, May 2018: A 17-year-old opened fire at a Houston-area high school, killing 10 people, most of them students, authorities said. The suspect has been charged with murder.
AP file
SANTA FE HIGH SCHOOL, May 2018: A 17-year-old opened fire at a Houston-area high school, killing 10 people, most of them students, authorities said. The suspect has been charged with murder.
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AP file
ROBB ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, May 2022: An 18-year-old gunman opened fire Tuesday at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, killing 19 children and two adults, officials said. The 18-year-old attacker was killed by law enforcement.
AP file
ROBB ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, May 2022: An 18-year-old gunman opened fire Tuesday at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, killing 19 children and two adults, officials said. The 18-year-old attacker was killed by law enforcement.
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Mike Kropf
A Charlottesville Police vehicle is parked on Culbreath Road during an active shooter situation on the University of Virginia campus in Charlottesville, Va., on Monday, Nov. 14, 2022. A few people have been killed and a few others were wounded in a shooting late Sunday at the University of Virginia, according to the school’s president. Police are searching for a suspect, who remains at large. (Mike Kropf /The Daily Progress via AP)
Mike Kropf
A Charlottesville Police vehicle is parked on Culbreath Road during an active shooter situation on the University of Virginia campus in Charlottesville, Va., on Monday, Nov. 14, 2022. A few people have been killed and a few others were wounded in a shooting late Sunday at the University of Virginia, according to the school’s president. Police are searching for a suspect, who remains at large. (Mike Kropf /The Daily Progress via AP)
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Mike Kropf
Bethanie Glover, the Virginia Deputy University spokesperson, speaks to members of the media during an active shooter situation on the University of Virginia campus in Charlottesville, Va., on Monday, Nov. 14, 2022. A few people have been killed and a few others were wounded in a shooting late Sunday at the University of Virginia, according to the school’s president. Police are searching for a suspect, who remains at large. (Mike Kropf /The Daily Progress via AP)
Mike Kropf
Bethanie Glover, the Virginia Deputy University spokesperson, speaks to members of the media during an active shooter situation on the University of Virginia campus in Charlottesville, Va., on Monday, Nov. 14, 2022. A few people have been killed and a few others were wounded in a shooting late Sunday at the University of Virginia, according to the school’s president. Police are searching for a suspect, who remains at large. (Mike Kropf /The Daily Progress via AP)
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Mike Kropf
A police officer walks up Culbreath Road during an active shooter situation on the University of Virginia campus in Charlottesville, Va., on Monday, Nov. 14, 2022. A few people have been killed and a few others were wounded in a shooting late Sunday at the University of Virginia, according to the school’s president. Police are searching for a suspect, who remains at large. (Mike Kropf /The Daily Progress via AP)
Mike Kropf
A police officer walks up Culbreath Road during an active shooter situation on the University of Virginia campus in Charlottesville, Va., on Monday, Nov. 14, 2022. A few people have been killed and a few others were wounded in a shooting late Sunday at the University of Virginia, according to the school’s president. Police are searching for a suspect, who remains at large. (Mike Kropf /The Daily Progress via AP)
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Mike Kropf
A University of Virginia police officer drives a van full of people away from the crime scene during an active shooter situation on the University of Virginia campus in Charlottesville, Va., on Monday, Nov. 14, 2022. A few people have been killed and a few others were wounded in a shooting late Sunday at the University of Virginia, according to the school’s president. Police are searching for a suspect, who remains at large. (Mike Kropf /The Daily Progress via AP)
Mike Kropf
A University of Virginia police officer drives a van full of people away from the crime scene during an active shooter situation on the University of Virginia campus in Charlottesville, Va., on Monday, Nov. 14, 2022. A few people have been killed and a few others were wounded in a shooting late Sunday at the University of Virginia, according to the school’s president. Police are searching for a suspect, who remains at large. (Mike Kropf /The Daily Progress via AP)
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Mike Kropf
Bethanie Glover, the Virginia Deputy University spokesperson speaks to members of the media during an active shooter situation on the University of Virginia campus in Charlottesville, Va., on Monday, Nov. 14, 2022. A few people have been killed and a few others were wounded in a shooting late Sunday at the University of Virginia, according to the school’s president. Police are searching for a suspect, who remains at large. (Mike Kropf /The Daily Progress via AP)
Mike Kropf
Bethanie Glover, the Virginia Deputy University spokesperson speaks to members of the media during an active shooter situation on the University of Virginia campus in Charlottesville, Va., on Monday, Nov. 14, 2022. A few people have been killed and a few others were wounded in a shooting late Sunday at the University of Virginia, according to the school’s president. Police are searching for a suspect, who remains at large. (Mike Kropf /The Daily Progress via AP)
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Mike Kropf
A medical examiner, who declined to give his name, arrives on the scene during an active shooter situation at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Va., on Monday, Nov. 14, 2022. A few people have been killed and a few others were wounded in a shooting late Sunday at the University of Virginia, according to the school’s president. Police are searching for a suspect, who remains at large. (Mike Kropf /The Daily Progress via AP)
Mike Kropf
A medical examiner, who declined to give his name, arrives on the scene during an active shooter situation at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Va., on Monday, Nov. 14, 2022. A few people have been killed and a few others were wounded in a shooting late Sunday at the University of Virginia, according to the school’s president. Police are searching for a suspect, who remains at large. (Mike Kropf /The Daily Progress via AP)
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Mike Kropf
A bus idles behind police tape during an active shooter situation at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Va., on Monday, Nov. 14, 2022. A few people have been killed and a few others were wounded in a shooting late Sunday at the University of Virginia, according to the school’s president. Police are searching for a suspect, who remains at large. (Mike Kropf /The Daily Progress via AP)
Mike Kropf
A bus idles behind police tape during an active shooter situation at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Va., on Monday, Nov. 14, 2022. A few people have been killed and a few others were wounded in a shooting late Sunday at the University of Virginia, according to the school’s president. Police are searching for a suspect, who remains at large. (Mike Kropf /The Daily Progress via AP)
