Virginia players granted extra year of eligibility

Associated PressDec 7, 2022, 5:58 PM EST

Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — The NCAA has granted an extra year of eligibility to Virginia players whose eligibility has expired in the aftermath of the slaying of three members of the team, the school confirmed.

Lavel Davis Jr., D’Sean Perry and Devin Chandler were killed last month as they returned to campus from a field trip to see a play in Washington, D.C. A former player at the school, Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., is facing three counts of second-degree murder and other charges in the shooting. A fourth player, Mike Hollins, and student Marlee Morgan were injured in the shooting.

Virginia canceled its final two games of the season after the shooting, and the team and university community memorialized the victims in a nearly two-hour service on campus. Team members also traveled to each of the three funerals held for their teammates.

UVA football player wounded in shooting gets out of hospital

Associated PressNov 22, 2022, 10:41 PM EST

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RICHMOND, Va. – A University of Virginia football player who was seriously wounded in a shooting that killed three of his teammates has been released from the hospital.

Brenda Hollins, the mother of running back Mike Hollins, tweeted early Monday: “Mike has been discharged!!! HALLELUJAH.”

She asked for continued prayers “as he recovers and settles into his new life.” She also asked for prayers for the families of the three players who were killed in the Nov. 13 shooting. “They need us!!!” she wrote.

Joe Gipson, a spokesman for the Louisiana law firm where Brenda Hollins works, said Mike Hollins was released from the UVA Medical Center on Sunday. Gipson said Mike Hollins will be staying with his family at an offsite location near the hospital for the next few weeks for follow-up medical appointments.

Lavel Davis Jr., D’Sean Perry and Devin Chandler were shot and killed on a charter bus as they returned to campus from a field trip to see a play in Washington. Each died of a gunshot wound to the head, according to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

Authorities have said that Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., a UVA student and former member of the football team who was on the trip, began shooting at students on the bus as it pulled to a stop at a campus parking garage.

A prosecutor said in court last week that a witness told police the gunman targeted specific victims, shooting one as he slept. Two other students were wounded. Student Marlee Morgan was released from the hospital last week. A spokesperson for the Hollins family said last week that Hollins, who was shot in the back, underwent multiple surgeries and was making progress in his recovery.

Jones, 23, faces second-degree murder and other charges stemming from the shooting, which set off a manhunt and 12-hour campus lockdown before Jones was apprehended in suburban Richmond. Jones is being held without bond.

Authorities have not released a motive.

Virginia cancels Virginia Tech game after players killed

Associated PressNov 21, 2022, 11:11 PM EST

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The University of Virginia has canceled its game against rival Virginia Tech scheduled for Saturday following the slaying of three football players on campus just over a week ago.

The university made the announcement Monday night, two days after a nearly two-hour memorial service to remember Lavel Davis Jr., Devin Chandler and D’Sean Perry. The three were fatally shot on Nov. 13 after a field trip to see a play in Washington.

“The decision was made following communication between the Atlantic Coast Conference, Virginia and Virginia Tech athletic department administration,” Virginia Tech said in a statement. “The ACC and Virginia Tech continue to support UVA following the devastating tragedy … .”

A prosecutor said in court last week that a witness told police the gunman targeted specific victims, shooting one as he slept. Two other students were wounded.

Authorities have not released a motive.

Virginia also canceled a game against No. 23 Coastal Carolina last Saturday.

Neither the Cavaliers (3-7, 1-6 Atlantic Coast Conference), under first-year coach Tony Elliott, nor the Hokies (3-8, 1-6), under first-year coach Brent Pry, have anything to lose by not playing their Commonwealth Cup game.

The Hokies, who endured a massacre that left 33 dead, including the gunman, in 2007, wore orange uniforms as they ended a seven-game losing streak with a 23-22 victory at Liberty on Saturday. The Hokies and Virginia share orange as a signature color.