He raced about the grass, cleats tearing up the sandy front yard of the Chandler home. The warm, unforgiving sun of Huntersville, North Carolina, beat upon his back as he prepared for his first year at William Amos Hough High School. He’d transferred from Arlington High School in Tennessee to achieve his dream: to play Division 1 football and to go to a college where he could “sing, dance, and, of course, play football,” his mother, Dalayna Chandler, recalled. 

Devin Chandler committed to the University of Wisconsin as a wide receiver for the 2020 season. Chandler played as a redshirt freshman for the Badgers, visiting Wake Forest in the 2020 Duke’s Mayo Bowl. However, he ultimately transferred to the University of Virginia after experiencing extreme loneliness and homesickness as a Badger during the 2020 pandemic.

As a Cavalier, Chandler spent his time apart from football dancing in the athletic training center with his best friends, fellow Cavalier football players Cody Brown and Lorenz Terry. Chandler often slept overnight in the office for the opportunity with Cody Brown and Lorenz Terry, dancing in the athletic training center with music blasting. He sang, danced, and wrapped Terry into rap battles; they were kids, just a few 20-year-old guys loving their college years, names, and numbers on Scott Stadium’s big screen.

Devin Chandler died in his sleep due to a gunshot wound. His funeral was on Sunday.

Lavel Davis Jr. hoped to go to the NFL. An immediate standout, the 6 foot 7, 220-pound wide receiver grew up in the small town of Dorchester, South Carolina. Lavel Davis Jr. died in his sleep due to a gunshot wound. His funeral was on Wednesday.

D’Sean Perry was a linebacker with a passion for art. He loved to cook while watching anime.

“Yo good up there?”

The screen lit up the ceiling of the emptied bus. It was a text from Perry’s father after hearing that shots had been fired on UVA’s campus.

D’Sean Perry’s funeral was on Nov. 26. He was 22.

Unlike the others, this column won’t go on for pages and pages. Why? Because there isn’t much to say. This is not an opinion column. It is a fact column.

Fact: Christopher Darnell Jones, a failed walk-on for the University of Virginia, was arrested for carrying a 9mm semiautomatic pistol without a permit in 2021.

Fact: Jones purchased a Glock 9mm pistol and a Ruger model AR-556 caliber rifle in 2021, passing the state-required background check despite his previous charges of leaving the scene of an accident.

Fact: An anonymous student reported Jones for possessing a firearm on campus on Sept. 15, 2022. The UVA Office of Student Affairs failed to contact Jones and discontinued the investigation.

Fact: Jones opened fire on a UVA student bus around 10:30 pm on Nov. 13, 2022. The bus had been returning from a student field trip. Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr., and D’Sean Perry were killed.

Fact: The nation’s lack of gun control, alongside the University of Virginia’s blatant failure to investigate Jones, are responsible for the deaths of Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr., and D’Sean Perry.

Again, this is not an opinion column. It is a fact column.

I initially shied away from writing this column for fear of veering into political territory; however, the more I studied the shooter and his victims, I noticed that the killings of Chandler, Davis, and Perry couldn’t be any farther from a political matter. 

The university and the government’s blatant disregard for gun control killed these young men.

They are more than names. Say their names.

Christopher Darnell Jones walked into his local convenience store and, in a matter of minutes, bought the lethal weapon that would kill three men; three sons, brothers, nephews, uncles. Promote gun control. Make it so that those with violent or criminal history cannot buy a lethal weapon. 

I’m tired, and you should be too.

Edited by Presley Tsang