According to the school’s president Jim Ryan, three people have been killed and two others were wounded in a shooting at the University of Virginia.
Police are now searching for the suspect who they say is a student at the college, Christopher Darnell Jones Jr.
Ryan, in a letter posted on social media, said that the shooting happened around 10:30 p.m. Sunday and confirmed that it “resulted in three fatalities; two additional victims were injured and are receiving medical care,”
“This is a message any leader hopes never to have to send, and I am devastated that this violence has visited the University of Virginia,” Ryan wrote. “This is a traumatic incident for everyone in our community.”
The university’s emergency management issued an alert on Sunday night notifying the campus community of an “active attacker firearm.” The message warned students to shelter in place following a report of shots fired on Culbreth Road on the northern outskirts of campus. Classes were canceled Monday.
The UVA Police Department posted a notice online saying multiple police agencies including the state police were searching for a suspect who was considered “armed and dangerous.”
In his letter to campus, the university president said Jones was suspected of committing the shooting.
The campus emergency management’s Twitter account said that he was believed to be wearing blue jeans and a burgundy jacket and driving a black SUV with Virginia tags, and that “a complete search on and around UVA Grounds” by law enforcement was underway.
The message was sent out shortly before 7 a.m. and urged people on campus to remain sheltered.
