A student at the University of Virginia, in the United States, was arrested Monday on suspicion of shooting dead three university football players on Sunday and wounding two others.
The youngster was held for more than 13 hours after allegedly shooting classmates on the Charlottesville campus as they returned by bus from a school trip, authorities said.
University of Virginia director Jim Ryan and several law enforcement officers were at a press conference today when they learned the suspect had been arrested.
UVA UPDATE: Police have the suspect in custody. This is the last warning message.
– UVA Police (@UVAPolice) November 14, 2022
UVA Police are looking for Christopher Darnell Jones in connection with the shooting incident that took place on the University of Virginia grounds. Call 911 if seen, do not approach. pic.twitter.com/mKcxF6ksxw
– UVA Police (@UVAPolice) November 14, 2022
In addition to three University of Virginia football players, two other students were injured in Sunday night’s shooting, which occurred in a college campus parking lot as a busload of students returned from a school trip to Washington, DC.
Jim Ryan said one of the injured students was in critical condition and the other was stable in a local hospital.
The shooting sparked an intense “manhunt,” with authorities ordering students to shelter in place and searching campus buildings and grounds.
Students remained at the site for more than 12 hours until the order was lifted this morning.
As the press conference began, University of Virginia Police Chief Timothy Longo reported that authorities were “reasonably confident” that the shooter was no longer on university property and urged the public to provide information about the suspect.
Soon after, he received word that the 22-year-old suspect, Christopher Darnell Jones, had been arrested.
“Give me a moment to thank God and breathe a sigh of relief,” the police chief said.
Timothy Longo indicated that the youngster now faces three counts of second-degree murder and three counts of using a firearm in the commission of a felony.
So far, police have not given a motive for the attack.
According to the CNN news chain, at least 68 shootings took place on school grounds in the United States this year, including 15 on college campuses, in which at least one person was shot, not counting the gunman.
Source: DN
