Virginia AG appoints special counsel to review UVa shooting

Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares (R) on Thursday announced the appointment of a special counsel to review the response to a deadly shooting aboard a school bus that left three University of Virginia (U.Va) students dead and two others injured.

Miyares said in a press release that his office would begin a review of the events that led up to the shooting and would enlist the help of a special counsel.

The office will provide a public report when the review is completed, said Victoria LaCivita, a spokesperson for Miyares.

“The Attorney General will work with deliberate speed while ensuring that all necessary resources remain devoted to the criminal investigation being conducted by state and local authorities,” LaCivita said in a statement.

U.Va wrote in a letter requesting the investigation that the Virginia Attorney General’s Office should probe the response of university staff and police to the shooting, as well as efforts the university took before the tragedy to assess the suspect as a potential threat.

“As [the criminal] investigation proceeds, there are many valid questions about the shooting that have yet to be answered and are unlikely to be answered in the course of criminal proceedings,” U.Va officials wrote.

Virginia State Police are also investigating the shooting with the assistance of U.Va police and other local police departments, as well as the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the attorney general’s office.

The suspect in the shooting, Christopher Jones, 23, is being held without bond at the Charlottesville-Albemarle County Regional Jail.

Jones appeared before a court on Wednesday and was read the charges filed against him including: three felony counts of second degree murder, two felony counts of malicious wounding and five felony counts of the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.

Jones traveled on a bus with other U.Va students for a field trip to Washington, D.C., where they watched a play at the Atlas Performing Arts Center and ate dinner before returning to the campus.

As students were exiting the bus around at 10:15 p.m., Jones allegedly pulled out a firearm and began shooting, killing Lavel Davis Jr., D’Sean Perry and Devin Chandler, police said. Two other students are recovering from injuries sustained during the event.

Police said Jones fled in a black Dodge Durango, setting off a 12-hour manhunt before he was captured.

In a Thursday update, Virginia State Police said they were still trying to piece together Jones’s movement before he was apprehended. Police also have yet to identify a motive.

Police said they recovered a handgun at the crime scene in addition to rifle and a handgun at Jones’s residence in Charlottesville.

According to prosecutors, Jones has a lengthy criminal history.

In February 2021, he was charged with possession of a concealed handgun in Chesterfield County and handed a 12-month suspended sentence.

At that time, Jones had two outstanding warrants in connection to a hit-and-run accident and for reckless driving.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.