
Former University of Virginia student pleads guilty in 2022 shooting that left 3 dead and 2 wounded
CNN
A former University of Virginia student pleaded guilty Wednesday to fatally shooting three football players and wounding two other students on the Charlottesville campus in 2022.
A former University of Virginia student pleaded guilty Wednesday to fatally shooting three football players and wounding two other students on the Charlottesville campus in 2022. Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., 25, pleaded guilty to three counts of first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated malicious wounding and five counts of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. A four-day sentencing hearing is scheduled to begin Feb. 4 in Albemarle County Circuit Court. Jones had been scheduled to stand trial on charges that included aggravated murder, which carries a mandatory sentence of life without parole in Virginia. The first-degree murder charges he pleaded guilty to carry a sentence of 20 years to life. Authorities said that Jones opened fire on a charter bus as he and other students arrived back on campus after seeing a play and having dinner together in Washington, D.C. Authorities had not released a motive. Jones was a former member of the university’s football team at the time of the shooting. A witness told police that he had targeted specific victims. Football players Lavel Davis Jr., D’Sean Perry and Devin Chandler were killed, while a fourth member of the team, Mike Hollins, and another student, Marlee Morgan, were wounded.

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