CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- Three rings rang out Monday afternoon from the University of Virginia chapel to honor the lives of three lives lost on the campus one year ago.
Christopher Darnell Jones allegedly opened fire on his classmates on November 13, 2022, inside a bus carrying students who had just returned from a field trip to Washington D.C.
Three UVA football players, Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr, and D’Sean Perry, were killed.
While the world may know D’Sean as an athlete who brought a smile to his teammate’s faces, his true passion was art.
“His work was uplifting in a way that had a sense of playfulness to it,” a former professor of D’Sean Perry’s said in a video tribute played during a conversation at UVA’s Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy Monday.
D’Sean Perry’s mother, Happy Perry, along with four other speakers directly impacted by gun violence, talked to students about their trauma, how they have been able to keep going, and how the community should respond to people experiencing trauma.
“This has been rough. I find my strength in knowing that I need to move forward and the love and legacy of D’Sean will grow, and I’m going to be OK,” Happy Perry said.
Happy Perry immediately started tearing up as she thanked the University’s president and the entire UVA community for their support.
“Each and every one of y’all, I love y’all, and I thank you,” Happy Perry said.
Her words come after the UVA Board of Visitors recently moved to go into closed session consult with legal counsel and receive advice about potential litigation related to the school shooting.
“It sounds to me like the Board of Visitors recognizes there is some concern of potential liability there and they want to make sure they’ve exhausted everything and investigated it in a way that won’t have a negative impact on the criminal cases,” CBS 6 Legal Analyst Todd Stone said.
Attorney General Jason Miyares (R - Virginia) said an external review of the shootings is done, and it’s now being reviewed by the University.
UVA said they hoped to release that review in early November.
While the community awaits the opportunity to read the review, Happy Perry said she is spending her time giving back in a way that D’Sean Perry would have wanted her to.
“Every day he gives me something else to do on my to-do list, and I’m going to get it done,” Happy Perry said.
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