The University of Virginia will pay $9 million in a settlement reached with the families of victims of a 2022 campus shooting that killed three college football players and injured two other students, an attorney representing some of the victims and their families.
The school will pay $2 million each to the families of D'Sean Perry, Devin Chandler and Lavel Davis Jr., the maximum allowed under Virginia law, according to attorney Kimberly Wald, who represents some of the families.
A total of $3 million will also be paid to the two students who were injured: Mike Hollins, a fourth member of the football team, and Marlee Morgan.
Some families, however, are not satisfied and are demanding the immediate release of an independent investigation into the shooting that ended last year. The focus of the investigation included efforts by the university to assess the potential threat of the suspect, a student who was ultimately charged with murder, and recommendations from what was discovered in the investigation.
UPGRADED MURDER CHARGES IN SHOOTING CASE OF UVA FOOTBALL PLAYER
University of Virginia football players Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr. and D'Sean Perry. (University of Virginia Athletics)
The alleged shooter was identified by police as Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., a UVA student and former member of the school's football team.
Wald, who represents Perry's estate, said the university should have removed the alleged shooter from campus before the attack occurred because he showed multiple warning signs through erratic and unstable behavior.
“This agreement today is just a small step for these families; there is much to do,” Wald said. “If there is a lesson, even one lesson, that we can learn from that report, we need to know it now… We need to protect lives now.”
University officials delayed releasing the report last year out of fear it could affect the suspect's upcoming trial.
“We are committed to providing it as soon as we can be certain that doing so will not interfere in any way with the criminal process,” UVA President Jim Ryan said at the time.
According to Wald, the settlement was negotiated out of court and did not follow the filing of a lawsuit. But any settlement in Virginia must be approved by a judge, and the settlement was accepted by an Albemarle County Circuit Court judge Friday afternoon.
The agreements were also approved by Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin and Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, the university said in a statement.
UVA football player Michael Hollins Jr. is one of two surviving victims of a shooting that also killed three of his teammates. (Official Athletic Site of the Virginia Cavaliers)
UVA Chancellor Robert Hardie and President Ryan said in Friday's statement that the lives of the three deceased students were “tragically cut short” and that these victims “have always been on our minds.”
“We will always remember the impact Devin, Lavel and D'Sean had on our community, and we are grateful for the times they spent in our presence elevating UVA through their time in the classroom and on the football field,” he said. read in the statement. saying.
The shooting occurred as the suspect was returning by charter bus to campus after a field trip to see a play in Washington, according to authorities.
The incident began near a parking lot and sparked panic and a campus lockdown for 12 hours until the suspect was detained. Jones Jr. has a trial on murder and other charges scheduled for January.
Days after the shooting, university officials requested an external review to investigate campus security policies and procedures, the university's response to the shooting and its previous efforts to assess the potential threat from the suspect. School officials acknowledged that Jones Jr. was previously on the radar of the university's threat assessment team.
The university initially said the report, which was completed in October, would be released in November before changing its stance due to concerns about affecting the suspect's trial.
UVA SHOOTING SURVIVOR SPEAKS FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 3 FOOTBALL TEAMMATES KILLED ON THE BUS: 'BROTHERS I LOST'
University of Virginia police released a photo of Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., who has been named as a suspect in a shooting on the UVA campus on Nov. 13, 2022. (University of Virginia Police/Twitter)
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Perry's mother said Friday that the report should be released now if it can help prevent similar shootings.
“As a mother, I want to know what happened. I have a right to know what happened,” Happy Perry told reporters. “At this time, receiving that report is a matter of public and national safety.”
Hollins' mother said she felt mixed emotions Friday after the settlement. She also explained how devastated and changed all of the victims' families are.
“If you put on your smile, throughout the day you can keep going,” Brenda Hollins said. “But then it just washes over you. And if you don't address it at the time, it consumes you.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
