3 dead in shooting at University of Virginia

A Virginia State Police criminal investigation truck is shown at the crime scene where 3 people were killed and 2 others wounded on the grounds of the University of Virginia on November 14, 2022 in Charlottesville, Virginia. (Photo by WIN MCNAMEE / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

A student gunman was at large after he fatally shot three people and wounded two others at a garage on the University of Virginia campus late Sunday night, authorities said.

Around 6:30 a.m. Eastern time Monday, the university again urged people in and around campus to remain sheltered in place as authorities searched for the suspect. Classes on Monday were canceled.

It was not immediately clear if the victims were students.

The university’s office of emergency management said it received reports of shots fired at a garage on Culbreth Road around 10:30 p.m. Sunday. The University of Virginia Police Department identified the gunman as Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., who the university president said in an email to the campus was a student at the school.

University police warned that Jones was “armed and dangerous.” They said several law enforcement agencies were helping with the search for Jones, and that the Virginia state police had deployed helicopters as part of the effort.

Eva Surovell, a senior at the university and the editor-in-chief of The Cavalier Daily, the campus newspaper, told NBC News in Washington that students were taking the news seriously. “Everyone is awake, everyone is sheltering in place, calling family, checking in, making sure they’re OK,” she said. “It’s certainly somber.”

In the email to the campus sent early Monday, the university president, Jim Ryan, said, “I am heartbroken to report that the shooting has resulted in three fatalities; two additional victims were injured and are receiving medical care. We are working closely with the families of the victims, and we will share additional detail as soon as we are able.”

“This is a message any leader hopes never to have to send,” he added, “and I am devastated that this violence has visited the University of Virginia.”

Gov. Glenn Youngkin of Virginia said on Twitter early Monday that he was praying for the university’s community and reiterated officials’ warning to shelter in place.

Jones was described by the police as wearing a burgundy jacket, bluejeans, red shoes and possibly driving a black SUV. They urged family and friends of those on campus to call an emergency hotline for more information about the episode.

Around 1:18 a.m., Robyn S. Hadley, the university’s dean of students, sent an email to the student body urging those on campus to “Please, please take the shelter in place commands seriously as the situation remains active.”

A spokesperson for the university provided the email sent by the university president, but did not immediately respond to additional questions from The New York Times.

The university’s athletics website listed Jones as a one-time member of its football team; the website listed him as a freshman member of the team who did not appear in any games in 2018.

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