CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- As students at the University of Virginia returned to class Wednesday for the first time since a deadly campus shooting, the 22-year-old accused of killing and injuring multiple students made his initial court appearance.
First-year student Cameron Walker stopped by a growing memorial outside of Scott Stadium for the three UVA football players who lost their lives in the attack.
“There’s definitely a sense of solidarity but also heartbreak in the atmosphere right now," Walker said after taking a moment to reflect on the lives of D'Sean Perry, Devin Chandler, and Lavel Davis, Jr. “I was giving thanks to all they've done for the school athletic-wise, just the great people they were, what they gave to their family.”
Though Walker didn't know the young men personally, she said she has friends on the football team who speak highly of them.
“Just seeing them grieve and hearing them talk about how those were their brothers and how they don’t know how they’re going to go on, it hurts," Walker said.
As an aspiring lawyer, Walker said she's closely following the court case of the suspected shooter, Christopher Jones, Jr.
But Walker said it's hard to make sense of what happened, especially since details surrounding what might've led up to the shooting remain limited.
“It’s beyond me how it can lead to something like this," Walker said.
Jones went before a judge for the first time Wednesday. Inside the courtroom, Albemarle Commonwealth's Attorney James Hingeley revealed new information about the case.
He said a witness told police that Jones targeted his victims when he opened fire on a school bus full of students who were returning from a field trip Sunday night. That witness, according to Hingeley, said Chandler was asleep when he was shot dead.
Jones appeared by video from jail for the court hearing. He did not enter a plea to the numerous charges he faces, which include multiple counts of second-degree murder, malicious wounding, and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.
The suspect said he plans to hire an attorney. A judge ordered him held without bond and appointed a public defender to represent him until he secures private counsel.
Though Hingeley said Jones was not shooting randomly, officials have released limited information about his possible connections to the victims.
Jones was on UVA's football team's roster for one semester in 2018 as a walk-on, but the school's athletic director said there was no overlap between Jones and the players he allegedly attacked. The athletic director also said she was not aware of any interactions between Jones and the players outside of class.
Previous reporting showed Jones' father "saying some people were picking on him," Jones' classmate saying he "got treated differently by a few players," and a witness alleging Jones said 'you guys are always picking on me' moments before the shooting.
University spokesperson Brian Coy said Jones was linked to a "potential hazing issue" but said he could not answer CBS 6's questions about his involvement in the investigation. Who filed the initial hazing complaint? What was the nature of the alleged hazing?
"Due to the ongoing criminal investigation into this matter, we aren’t able to provide comment on these questions. We will offer updates on this case as we are able," Coy said in an email Wednesday.
Coy added the status of the investigation "limits what we can offer in terms of information about his background or other facts of this case."
During a Monday press conference, UVA Police Chief Tim Longo said the hazing probe was eventually closed because witnesses refused to cooperate. When asked if the hazing investigation had been reopened in light of the shooting, Coy declined to answer.
In the course of that hazing probe, Coy said UVA officials learned on September 15 from a student that Jones made a comment about possessing a gun. The student who made the report did not see the gun or hear Jones make any threats.
As UVA's Threat Assessment Team began investigating allegations of Jones having a gun, officials also learned that he was convicted of a misdemeanor for a concealed weapons violation in 2021. Hingeley revealed the violation happened in Chesterfield County. Jones received a 12-month suspended sentence and a small fine.
UVA said Jones was supposed to report that gun violation to the school but never did. Coy said Jones "repeatedly refused" to cooperate with UVA officials as they tried to seek additional information.
On October 27, UVA Student Affairs decided it wanted to escalate Jones' case to an oversight judiciary committee for disciplinary action. But Coy said Student Affairs failed to give that report to the committee. Thus, no disciplinary action ever occurred.
Now, Coy said UVA is "working to correct that." He added it usually takes weeks or months for due process to be served when it comes to disciplinary action.
Walker, who was aware of Jones' gun charge and involvement with the threat assessment team, said she was disappointed UVA knew of the claims and previous weapons violation in recent weeks but didn't take action.
“It’s definitely upsetting, because well, hindsight is 2020," she said. “I hope that it doesn't take more people losing their life for them to do something about these types of charges and how serious it can be."
Walker said it's easy to talk about what should've happened when looking back, but she'll continue to focus on honoring the victims and advocating for measures to prevent future violence.
She said she's committed to "preach their legacy and fight for this to not happen again."
