‘Armed and dangerous’ suspect at large in shooting on University of Virginia campus
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‘Armed and dangerous’ suspect frees in Charlottesville after University of Virginia campus shooting – students forced to take shelter after nighttime gunfire in parking garage
- University of Virginia police first reported shots fired at 10:30 p.m. on Charlottesville’s Culbreth Road
- It is unclear how many people were affected in the shooting: they have named the suspect as Christopher Darnell Jones
- Jones, 23, was a soccer player at UVA in 2018, according to VirginiaSports.com
Students at the University of Virginia have been ordered to take shelter in place while police hunt for a 23-year-old ex-football player who is believed to have opened fire on campus.
Christopher Darnell Jones is described by police in Charlottesville as armed and dangerous.
The UVA emergency management account tweeted at 10:42 p.m. Sunday: “UVA Alert: ACTIVE ATTACKER firearm reported in the Culbreth Road area. PERFORM HIDE WAR’
Police would not say if anyone was killed in the shooting.
University of Virginia police named the suspect in Sunday’s shooting as Christopher Darnell Jones, pictured
A police car was spotted on the University of Virginia campus on Sunday night
Students are urged to contact their family and friends and let them know they are safe.
University president Jim Ryan tweeted: “There has been a shooting on Culbreth Road and the suspect has been released and is considered armed and dangerous.”
He asked the community to follow the UVA emergency Twitter account for updated alerts and for the community to take shelter in place.
Jones, one of four children, is originally from Petersburg, Virginia, according to his profile on VirginiaSports.com.
He studied at Varina High School for three years and spent his senior year at Petersburg High School.
Jones can be seen in a photo shared on social media. Police are looking for him in connection with a Sunday night campus shooting in Charlottesville, Virginia
His profile describes him in glowing terms: Jones was a member of the National Honor Society and the National Technical Honor Society, which was president of Key Club – a community volunteering association.
“Key Club high school members provide community services such as cleaning up parks, collecting clothes and organizing food campaigns” website states.
“They also learn leadership skills by conducting meetings, planning projects and holding elected leadership positions at club, district and international levels.”
Jones also chaired the Jobs for Virginia Grads Program and was named Student of the Year as a freshman and sophomore at Varina, the site says.