RICHMOND, Va. — The University of Virginia said it will release a review of the school’s response and actions leading up to the Nov. 13, 2022 shooting on campus by a student that left three football players dead in February.
The shooter, Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., pleaded guilty Wednesday to three counts of first-degree murder, five counts of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, and two counts of aggravated malicious wounding.
UVA has withheld the independent review, which it requested Attorney General Jason Miyares commission from outside counsel, after it received the final report in October of 2023, citing concerns about how it could impact the criminal proceedings.
But, over the last two years, CBS 6 has uncovered several pieces of information about the student gunman’s past before the shooting.
Two months before Jones opened fire, UVA Student Affairs was in the process of reviewing a potential hazing issue involving Jones, when another student reported that Jones had commented about possessing a gun.
After the shooting, UVA spokesman Brian Coy told CBS 6 that Jones’s gun comment was not made in conjunction with a threat.
Still, UVA Police Chief Tim Longo said the person in student affairs contacted the threat assessment team.
University officials made contact with Jones’s roommate who did not indicate the presence of any weapons, but Jones refused to cooperate.
Coy said that during the investigation, university officials discovered Jones was previously convicted of a misdemeanor concealed weapons violation in 2021 in Chesterfield County.
UVA Student Affairs opted to escalate Jones’s case for disciplinary action on Oct. 27, 2022 through the University Judiciary Committee, which is a student-run body authorized to investigate and adjudicate alleged conduct violations, but Coy said they still had not been able to reach Jones.
Coy said Students Affairs never actually transmitted its report on Jones to the University Judiciary Committee, so no action was taken.
More details about those actions, or inactions, are likely sitting inside that external review.
Attorney Michael Haggard, who represents the parents of DeShaun Perry and Mike Hollins, said the families want the report released as soon as possible.
“They want the lives of these three beautiful young men to impact safety at the rest of America’s universities and colleges. This report should have been turned over a long time ago, it should be turned over now,” Haggard said.
But, Brian Coy said the university will not release anything until after sentencing wraps up in February.
“We are hopeful that as soon as the sentence is imposed the report will be turned over for the families so that they can see what happened that day, and what should have happened in preventing this incident,” Haggard said.
CBS 6 legal analyst Todd Stone said that even though Jones has pleaded guilty, the legal process does remain ongoing until sentencing concludes, and institutions do often delay releasing such reports to avoid interfering with judicial proceedings.
Governor Glenn Youngkin said the school is making the right call.
"I think there is a very appropriate legal contemplation with when they release the report. The legal process has to run its course. I don't think there's a minute where the school is trying to be — to obstruct transparency. I think they're following appropriate legal guidelines to make sure that justice is served here,” Youngkin said.
CBS 6 has submitted another public records request to try to obtain the report, and we will continue to ask UVA to release it to us when they feel comfortable.
CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.
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