Slain University of Virginia football players awarded with posthumous degrees

The University of Virginia (UVA) has announced that it will award posthumous degrees to the three football players who were killed in a campus shooting last month.

In a news release on Monday, UVA said that Lavel Davis Jr., Devin Chandler and D’Sean Perry will receive degrees from the school’s College of Arts & Sciences, where they were all students. 

Rachel Most, the school’s associate dean for undergraduate academic programs and dean of the school’s College of Arts & Sciences Department, made the request for the players to earn their degrees. 

Davis Jr., a junior and wide receiver on the Cavaliers football team, majored in African American and African studies. Chandler, a sophomore and wide receiver, majored in American studies at the school. 

Perry, a senior and linebacker for the football team, was a double major in studio art and in African American and African studies.

Chandler, Davis Jr., and Perry were shot and killed last month as they were returning from a class field trip to Washington, D.C.

Two other students, Mike Hollins, a running back for the school’s football team, and Marlee Morgan were also wounded in the incident, but have since been released from the medical facility following treatment. 

Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., a UVA student and former football player, was arrested and charged with three counts of second-degree murder and three counts of using a handgun in the commission of a felony. 

Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares (R) announced last month that he’ll appoint a special counsel to review the events leading up to the shooting. 

UVA Athletic Director Carla Williams, who attended Davis Jr.’s funeral service along with members of the football team and other school representatives, said in a statement that she was honored to present the diplomas to the families of the victims. 

“It was a great honor to be a part of presenting these diplomas to the families of Devin, Lavel and D’Sean,” Williams said.