>
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft loaned one of the team’s two planes to University of Virginia football players attending the funerals of teammates killed in a campus shooting earlier this month.
Teammates D’Sean Perry, Devin Chandler and Lavel Davis Jr. were killed on November 13 aboard a charter bus as they returned to campus after traveling to Washington, where their class was attending a play.
Authorities have said that Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., a UVA student and former member of the football team who was traveling, began shooting students on the bus as it stopped at a parking garage on campus. Two other students were injured, including football player Mike Hollins.
Perry’s funeral was held in Miami on Saturday, while Chandler’s was in Virginia Beach on Sunday, according to reports. Services for Davis will be held in South Carolina on Wednesday.
Brandon Lloyd, a former sportswriter from Charlottesville, Virginia, revealed the Patriots’ generosity on Twitter: “I just saw the plane from New England on [Charlottesville Albemarle Airport]. What a wonderful gesture.’
Patriots spokesmen have since confirmed to DailyMail.com that the team did indeed loan the plane to the players.
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft loaned one of the team’s two planes to University of Virginia football players attending the funerals of teammates killed in a campus shooting earlier this month. Brandon Lloyd, a former sportswriter from Charlottesville, Virginia, revealed the Patriots’ generosity on Twitter: “I just saw the plane from New England on [Charlottesville Albemarle Airport]. What a great gesture’
Teammates D’Sean Perry (right), Devin Chandler (left) and Lavel Davis Jr. (center) were murdered on November 13 aboard a bus as they returned to campus after a trip to Washington where their class was attending a play
Patriots owner Robert Kraft appears for the November 24 game against the Vikings
NCAA spokespersons did not respond to questions about the gesture and whether or not it violated the organization’s rules about unauthorized gifts.
The Cavaliers, who canceled their last two games of the season, received good news last week when Hollins was released from the hospital after an injury.
“Mike is fired!!!” Brenda Hollins, Mike’s mother, wrote on Twitter. HALLELUJAH I want to thank everyone for their prayers, texts and calls.
“This has really been a test of faith and I am grateful. GOD has shown me that he is faithful!’ she added. “Please continue to pray for Mike as he recovers and settles into his new life.”
Hollins was shot in the back and subsequently had to undergo two surgeries.
“Please continue to pray for the Chandler, Davis and Perry families,” Brenda Hollins wrote. ‘They need us!!! God is great!’
Hollins had an impressive season for the Cavaliers before the shooting, gaining 215 yards and scoring a pair of touchdowns on 53 carries.
University officials and police said Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., 22, joined a group of about 20 others on a Sunday field trip from the Charlottesville campus to see a play in the nation’s capital, about 125 miles away. . Jones was on the football team during the 2018 season, a one-semester walk-on, according to athletics director Carla Williams
University of Virginia running back Mike Hollins (right) has been released from the hospital after being injured in a mass shooting on campus that left three teammates dead. “Mike is fired!!!” Brenda Hollins (left), Mike’s mother, wrote on Twitter. HALLELUJAH I want to thank everyone for their prayers, texts and calls
The three players died of a gunshot wound to the head, according to the Chief Medical Examiner’s office.
Jones, 23, faces manslaughter and other charges stemming from the shooting, which sparked a manhunt and 12-hour campus lockdown before Jones was apprehended in suburban Richmond. Jones is being held without bond.
Thousands of people joined Virginia’s football team, coaches and staff earlier this month to honor the three players who died.
The service came a day after Virginia basketball players paid tribute as they returned to court for the first time since the campus shooting.
“Only time will reveal God’s purpose in this adversity. Going forward, I am confident that all three of them will rejoice in paradise, speaking good things on behalf of each of us in preparation for the time when we will all be together again,” said first-year head coach Tony Elliott.
Thousands of people joined Virginia’s football team, coaches and staff on Saturday for a memorial service in Charlottesville to honor three players who were shot dead last weekend
Ross Brown places flowers on a memorial at the John Paul Jones Arena on the university’s campus
To the family members and friends seated in the front two rows, Elliott added, “I am grateful for your willingness to share your family’s gifts with all of us.”
Athletic director Carla Williams shared stories she heard this week from relatives of the players, saying the tragedy “has pushed me to my limits.”
“We are better and will do better because we will make sure their legacy never fades at the University of Virginia,” she vowed, telling the families, “We loved your sons.”
A witness told police the gunman targeted specific victims and shot one while he slept, a prosecutor said Wednesday at Jones’ first trial. Two other students were injured.
University of Virginia Athletic Director Carla Williams, left, and football coach Tony Elliott wipe tears from their eyes while serving for Lavel Davis Jr., D’Sean Perry, and Devin Chandler