The prime suspect in shootings on the campus of the University of Virginia has been identified as a former football player at the Charlottesville school who arrived at college as an honors student.

Christopher Darnell Jones remained at large as of early Monday morning and more than eight hours after he allegedly killed three people and injured two others during a shooting rampage on a campus road.

The UVA Police Department is looking for Christopher Darnell Jones regarding the shooting incident that occurred on the grounds of the University of Virginia. Call 911 if seen, do not approach. pic.twitter.com/mKcxF6ksxw

— UVA Police Department (@UVAPolice) November 14, 2022

From the Daily Progress:

The shooting at around 10:30 p.m. Sunday “resulted in three fatalities; two additional victims were injured and are receiving medical care,” President Jim Ryan said in a letter to the university community posted on social media.

The university’s emergency management issued an alert on Monday 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 campus.

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.”

No additional information about the victims was immediately released.

The attached email was just sent to the @UVA student body: pic.twitter.com/NWzxyzFVJG

— UVA Emergency Management (@UVA_EM) November 14, 2022

A bio on UVA’s sports website describes Jones as a one-time football player who was on the Cavaliers’ roster for one season in 2018, though it also said he never played one game.

The bio includes information about Jones in high school in Petersburg, Virginia:

Played linebacker and running back at Petersburg High School for head coach Michael Scott … earned honorable mention all-conference honors as a senior … spent first three years of high school at Varina High School where he earned honorable mention all-conference as a freshman and second-team accolades as a sophomore and junior … member of the National Honor Society … National Technical Honor Society … president of Key Club … president of Jobs for Virginia Grads Program … named Student of the Year as a freshman and sophomore at Varina … son of Margo Ellis and Christopher Jones, Sr. … has three siblings, Eliza, Darrius and Varian.

The New York Times referred to the suspect as a “student,” though the status of Jones’ enrollment at UVA was not immediately clear.

A glimpse into Jones’ past may provide some clues about Sunday night’s shooting.

In a profile published by the Richmond Times Dispatch in 2018, Jones was described as a soon-to-be high school graduate who had a history of “a fractured family, school fighting and suspensions, and one that began in Richmond, in two-bedroom apartments in the Essex Village and Mosby Court housing complexes.”

This is a developing story that will be updated as additional information becomes available.

SEE ALSO:

HBCU Homecoming Violence Highlights Complex Issue Of Safety At Black Colleges

The Importance Of Prioritizing Safety For Black Students On College Campuses

 

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