It was late on a Sunday night in November when the notifications started hitting phones across Charlottesville. For most students at the University of Virginia, it felt like just another end to a weekend of studying and school spirit. Then the alerts came. Shelter in place. Run. Hide. Fight. The University of Virginia shooting on November 13, 2022, wasn't just a headline for the people on that campus; it was a fundamental shift in how they viewed their world.
Three young men—Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr., and D’Sean Perry—never made it home from a class field trip to Washington, D.C. They were football players, sure, but they were also students, sons, and friends. Honestly, the shock of it all still lingers in the air around the Rotunda. When you talk to people who were there, they don't talk about the shooter first. They talk about the silence of the lockdown. Twelve hours of waiting in dark classrooms and locked dorm rooms while the police searched for Christopher Darnell Jones Jr.
The night everything changed on Grounds
The timeline is chillingly short but the impact is massive. A charter bus pulled into a parking garage near the Culbreth Theater after a day of seeing a play in D.C. It should have been the end of a long, productive day. Instead, shots rang out. Jones, a fellow student who had once been on the football team, opened fire.
Two other students, Mike Hollins and Marlee Morgan, were wounded. Hollins’ story is particularly harrowing because he actually made it off the bus, realized others were in danger, and went back. That kind of bravery is hard to wrap your head around. It’s the kind of thing you think you’d do until you’re actually facing a gun.
The manhunt that followed turned Charlottesville into a ghost town. Because the suspect had fled the scene, the entire university remained under a shelter-in-place order until the next morning. Imagine being 19 years old, huddled under a desk for twelve hours, watching Twitter for updates because the official channels can only tell you so much. It was a logistical nightmare and an emotional trauma that the community is still unpacking years later.
Who were the victims?
Lavel Davis Jr. was a wide receiver with a smile that people said could light up the entire locker room. He was a junior from Ridgeville, South Carolina. D’Sean Perry was a linebacker and a talented artist from Miami. Devin Chandler was a transfer student from Wisconsin who had just started making his mark at UVA.
These weren't just names on a jersey. They were guys known for their kindness. The football team didn't just lose players; they lost their core. After the University of Virginia shooting, the school canceled its final games of the season. How do you play a game when the person who usually sits next to you in the locker room is gone? You don't. You mourn.
What the investigations revealed about "Red Flags"
One of the hardest things for the UVA community to swallow was the realization that there were warnings. In the months following the tragedy, independent reports—including a massive one conducted by the law firm Quilling, Selander, Lownds, Winslett & Moser—looked into what the university knew before the shots were fired.
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It turns out, the UVA threat assessment team had Jones on their radar. There were reports of him possessing a firearm. There was a prior conviction for a concealed weapon violation that he hadn't reported to the school.
Why wasn't more done? That’s the question that haunts the families. The university’s "Student Case Management Team" had looked into him, but the dots weren't connected in a way that led to an intervention. It’s a classic case of the "Swiss cheese model" of failure: the holes in the system lined up perfectly at the worst possible moment.
Some people argue the university was too lenient. Others say the legal hurdles to removing a student are incredibly high. Either way, the report highlighted a lack of communication between the athletic department, the student affairs office, and the campus police. It’s a systemic issue that isn't unique to UVA, but UVA became the tragic example of what happens when those gaps persist.
The legal aftermath and the search for justice
Christopher Darnell Jones Jr. faced multiple counts of first-degree murder. The legal proceedings dragged on, as they often do in high-profile cases. In late 2024, Jones eventually pleaded guilty to the murders and the woundings. For the families, a guilty plea offers a bit of closure, but it doesn't bring back their sons.
The Commonwealth’s Attorney, James Hingeley, had a mountain of evidence, but the plea avoided a long, agonizing trial that would have forced the survivors to relive the night in a courtroom. It’s a heavy burden for a small city like Charlottesville, which has already seen its fair share of trauma over the last decade.
How campus safety changed forever
If you walk through UVA today, things look different. Not just the memorials or the "UVA Strong" stickers you still see on laptops, but the actual infrastructure of safety.
The university poured millions into security upgrades. We’re talking about better lighting, more cameras, and more importantly, a complete overhaul of how they handle threat assessments. They’ve centralized their reporting systems so that if a student is acting out in a dorm and also failing classes or making threats, one office sees the whole picture.
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- Digital ID access: Almost every building now requires a mobile or physical ID for entry after certain hours.
- The LiveSafe App: Adoption of this app skyrocketed. It allows students to discreetly text campus police or have a friend virtually "walk" them home.
- Active Shooter Training: It’s no longer an optional "if you have time" seminar. It’s baked into the orientation and the culture.
Honestly, it sucks that this is what it takes. You want a university to be an open space of ideas, not a fortress. But the reality of the University of Virginia shooting is that safety has to be proactive. You can't just react after the bus pulls into the parking lot.
The psychological toll on the "Lockdown Generation"
We have to talk about the mental health aspect here. This wasn't just about the five people hit by bullets. It was about thousands of students who spent a night in terror.
UVA’s Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) saw a massive spike in visits that didn't just go away after a semester. PTSD is real. For some students, the sound of a heavy door slamming or a loud pop in a chemistry lab can trigger a full-on panic attack. The university had to hire more trauma-informed counselors. They had to learn how to teach students who were suddenly afraid to sit in a lecture hall.
It also changed the faculty. Professors had to learn how to be more than just educators; they became first responders for their students' emotional well-being. It’s a lot to ask of someone who just wanted to teach 18th-century literature.
A community redefined by "UVA Strong"
You see the phrase everywhere. "UVA Strong." Sometimes these slogans feel corporate or hollow, but in Charlottesville, it felt earned.
The memorial service at John Paul Jones Arena was packed. Thousands of people stood in the cold to honor those players. It wasn't just about football. It was about a town and a university realizing that their identity was tied together. The healing process involved a lot of public art, vigils, and, eventually, a return to the field. When the UVA football team finally took the field again in 2023, the emotional weight was palpable. They weren't just playing for a win; they were playing for the three guys who should have been there with them.
Lessons for other institutions
What can other schools learn from the University of Virginia shooting? It’s not a pleasant list, but it’s a necessary one.
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First, your threat assessment team is only as good as the data you give it. If departments are siloed, the team is flying blind. There needs to be a culture where reporting a concern isn't seen as "snitching" but as a potential life-saving measure.
Second, the lockdown procedures need to be practiced. At UVA, the shelter-in-place lasted for ages. Communication during those hours is vital. If the school doesn't provide updates every 30 minutes, rumors fill the void. And rumors lead to more panic.
Third, the aftermath lasts for years, not weeks. Budgeting for mental health services needs to be a long-term commitment. You can't just bring in therapy dogs for a week and call it a day.
Moving forward without forgetting
There is a permanent memorial in the works. It’s meant to be a place of reflection, near the site of the shooting. But the real memorial is the change in policy and the increased awareness.
The families of the victims have been incredibly vocal. They’ve pushed for legislative changes in Virginia regarding gun safety and campus reporting. They’ve turned their grief into a form of activism that is frankly exhausting to even think about. But they do it so no other parent has to wait for a text that never comes.
Actionable steps for campus safety and support
If you are a student, parent, or faculty member, there are real things you can do right now. Don't wait for another alert to start thinking about this.
- Download your campus safety app immediately. Don't just download it; set up the "emergency contact" features and learn how the "Safe Walk" function works.
- Update your emergency contact info. Make sure the university has your current cell phone number for SMS alerts. These are usually the fastest way to get info during a crisis.
- Know two ways out of every room. It sounds paranoid until it isn't. When you walk into a lecture hall or a dining hall, just take three seconds to spot the secondary exit.
- Report "Leaking" behavior. Most school shooters "leak" their intentions beforehand—either on social media or in conversation. If something feels off, tell someone. It’s better to be wrong than to be quiet.
- Engage with mental health resources early. You don't need to be in a crisis to see a counselor. Building emotional resilience now helps you process trauma if it ever happens.
- Advocate for transparency. Ask your administration how they handle threat assessments. Do they have a multidisciplinary team? How often do they meet? Public pressure often drives the biggest safety improvements.
The University of Virginia shooting remains a dark chapter in the school’s long history. It’s a reminder that even the most prestigious institutions are vulnerable. But it’s also a story of how a community can refuse to be defined solely by a tragedy. By looking at the failures and honoring the victims through actual change, there is a path toward making Grounds a safer place for the next generation of Wahoos.