CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — The University of Virginia's athletics department spoke at a press conference Tuesday afternoon, less than two days after three football players were killed in a shooting.
The shooting happened on a charter bus outside the Culbreth Garage, located on Culbreth Road, after 10 p.m. Football players Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis and D'Sean Perry died from their injuries and two other people were hurt.
UVA student Christopher Darnell Jones is suspected to be the gunman. He was arrested in Henrico County, more than 70 miles from the shooting scene, and faces several charges, including second-degree murder.
Head Football Coach Tony Elliott and Athletics Director Carla Williams told a gallery of reporters what the last few hours had been like.
"It feels like it's a nightmare, to be honest with you," Elliott said.
Williams and Elliott both thanked the people who had reached out to support UVA through the tragedy, including fans, and said the student-athletes were feeling that support.
"We compete hard and this industry is very, very competitive, but our fans have been remarkable," Williams said.
Elliott said he was relying on his faith, trying to figure out step-by-step how to be strong for the team.
"When you prepare for this job, there's no chapter on a situation like this," he said.
The coach's thoughts were especially with the families who have been most impacted by the three losses.
"The message to the team is, we're going to celebrate those lives going forward, and the impact that they've made thus far, and the legacy that they're going to be a part of," Elliott said.
The two sports leaders said as soon as the police department cleared everyone to communicate, they pulled the team together, and let them start the grieving process as a group. They didn't want anyone to be isolated.
The sports department also has several psychologists on staff who have been helping student-athletes process what happened.
Here's how Elliott described the young men who were killed:
Lavel Davis
"I've known Lavel for a long time. Big smile, lights up the room, most people would say because he's the tallest guy in the room. Just his presence, he's got a gentleness about him, but he's passionate about what he believes in, so a lot of the stories today were just about the silly basketball arguments that they would have, and debates in the locker room. Everybody knew they could get Lavel to kind of hunker down, just by saying one thing."
Devin Chandler
"He's what you wanted in a young person at this level, but he just was a big kid. Smiled all the time, loved to dance, loved to sing. Loved to compete, even though the guys revealed that he wasn't very good at video games, but he thought he was," Elliott said. "The thing I remember about him is he always brought a smile to my face because he just was happy with where he was, comfortable in his skin, and just had a very bubbly personality."
D'Sean Perry
"D'Sean, I don't think many people outside of our program understand how special D'Sean was. Very very very artistic, could draw, could shape pots with clay, loved music, very cultured and well rounded," Elliott said. "He had a sense of humor that was one-of-a-kind."
Elliott said the coaching staff was coping by spending time with the team, and being strong for each other.
For now, most of the team is still in shock, he said.
