Charlottesville, Virginia – The University of Virginia and the state have reached a $6 million settlement with the families of three students who lost their lives in a tragic campus shooting in 2022. D’Sean Perry, Lavel Davis Jr., and Devin Chandler’s families will each receive $2 million as part of the approved settlements, finalized by Albemarle County Circuit Court Judge Claude V. Worrell II.
Elliott Buckner, representing the families’ attorneys, expressed that while the settlements do not bring closure or ease the families’ grief, they mark the conclusion of potential civil claims against U-Va. and the Commonwealth. Additionally, settlements totaling $3 million had been previously reached with two students injured in the shooting.
University of Virginia spokesperson Brian Coy confirmed that no lawsuit was filed in connection to the incident. U-Va. President James E. Ryan and Rector Robert Hardie released a statement expressing condolences for the lives lost and the impact the students had on the university community.
The shooting occurred as U-Va. students returned from a class trip, resulting in the tragic deaths of Perry, Davis Jr., and Chandler, who were also members of the university’s football team. Two other students, Michael Hollins Jr. and Marlee Morgan, were injured in the incident.
Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., the alleged perpetrator, was arrested following the shooting and faces murder charges, with a jury trial scheduled for January. It was revealed that Jones had a history of issues and had been uncooperative with university officials’ inquiries before the shooting took place.
University officials had requested an independent review of the shooting, which was completed last October, but the report’s release was delayed due to ongoing criminal proceedings. The families of the victims and the public eagerly await more information to shed light on the tragic events that unfolded on the Charlottesville campus.
Happy Perry, mother of D’Sean Perry, emphasized the importance of understanding what happened to her child, stressing that without answers, it is challenging to find closure and move forward. The community continues to mourn the loss of the three promising students and seeks accountability for the senseless violence that took their lives.