U-Va., state to pay millions to families of victims in 2022 deadly shooting

“None of the families are happy to be here today. … These settlements don’t bring closure to the families. They don’t do anything to ameliorate their grief or loss,” Elliott Buckner, speaking on behalf of attorneys for the families, told the judge. What they are is “simply the conclusion of potential civil claims against U-Va. and the Commonwealth.”

Settlements totaling $3 million had previously been finalized with two students who were injured in the shooting, according to an attorney.

Brian Coy, a spokesman for U-Va., said no lawsuit was filed.

“Since November 13, 2022, the families of Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr., and D’Sean Perry — whose lives were tragically cut short — have been ever present in our minds,” U-Va President James E. Ryan and Rector Robert Hardie said in a statement. “We will forever remember the impact that Devin, Lavel, and D’Sean had on our community, and we are grateful for the moments they spent in our presence uplifting UVA through their time in the classroom and on the football field.”

U-Va. students were returning from a class trip to see a play about Emmett Till when a gunman opened fire as their bus arrived on the Charlottesville campus. Perry, Davis Jr. and Chandler, who also were members of U-Va’s football team, were killed. Two other students, Michael Hollins Jr. and Marlee Morgan, were injured.

Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., who had also joined the trip, was later arrested in the shooting. He has been charged with murder and a jury trial is scheduled for January.

U-Va. had been aware of Jones before the shooting. A student had reported in September 2022 that Jones said he had a gun, and a threat-assessment team at the university had begun looking into him. That team learned that Jones had been convicted of a misdemeanor concealed-weapon violation the previous year. Jones declined to cooperate with university officials’ inquiries, and in late October 2022 they informed him he faced disciplinary action.

The shooting took place just weeks later.

University officials requested the state conduct an independent review of the shooting. Last October, Virginia Attorney General Jason S. Miyares (R) and U-Va. officials had announced in October that the review was complete, but Miyares’s office said it could not release the report because of “attorney-client ethical rules.”

U-Va. leaders initially said they would release it after a review, but later announced that they would delay doing so until after criminal proceedings had been completed.

U-Va. President James E. Ryan said in November that even releasing a summary of the findings could have an impact on the criminal trial. He acknowledged that many people, including the victims’ families, were awaiting more information and pledged to provide it as soon as possible.

Happy Perry, D’Sean Perry’s mother, has said she was eager to see the report. “Just like any other mother I want to know what happened to my child,” she said. “Without having that ‘why,’ I’m unable to heal — I’m unable to move forward.”