D'Sean Perry, a 22-year-old Black male, was a student and linebacker for the University of Virginia football team. His life was tragically cut short on the night of November 13, 2022, in Charlottesville, Virginia. Perry, along with two of his teammates, Devin Chandler and Lavel Davis Jr., was fatally shot on a charter bus that was returning to the university campus from a class field trip to Washington, D.C. The shooting also resulted in injuries to two other students.
The cause of death for Perry and the other two football players was determined to be a gunshot wound to the head, and the manner of death was ruled a homicide.
The incident prompted a campus-wide lockdown that lasted for 12 hours as law enforcement searched for the suspect. The suspected shooter was identified as Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., a fellow University of Virginia student and a former member of the football team. Jones was on the same field trip and opened fire on the bus as it was parking near a campus garage. He was taken into custody the following day. A handgun was later recovered in close proximity to the bus.
In the wake of the shooting, D'Sean Perry was remembered by family, friends, and coaches as a kind, artistic, and well-rounded young man with a great sense of humor. His parents described him as a 'loving, giving, caring, God-fearing young man who was full of life and potential.' He was a graduate of Gulliver Preparatory Academy in Pinecrest, Florida, where he was a standout football player.
Christopher Darnell Jones Jr. was initially charged with second-degree murder, but the charges were later upgraded to aggravated murder. He pleaded guilty to three counts of first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated malicious wounding, and firearm charges. Following his guilty plea, Jones was sentenced to five life sentences plus 23 years in prison. During the sentencing, Jones expressed remorse for his actions, though some of the victims' family members walked out during his statement. The university also faced scrutiny regarding its prior awareness of Jones as a potential threat. The school later agreed to a $9 million settlement with the victims and their families.
