$9 million settlement between University of Virginia and the families of 2022 mass shooting victims, yet they claim it's insufficient.
Representatives for the families of three University of Virginia football players who were killed in a shooting last year said the settlement they received does not bring them any closure and urged for the outcome of the attorney general's independent review into the incident to be revealed.
A judge in the Albemarle County Circuit Court authorized settlement agreements between the university and the estates of Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr., and D’Sean Perry. The three students were shot dead on November 13, 2022 as they returned to campus from a class trip to Washington, D.C. where they had seen a performance.
Two other individuals, Marlee Morgan and Michael Hollins, were wounded during the shooting. Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., a former football player, is accused of three counts of second-degree murder and three counts of using a firearm during the commission of a felony. He also faces two counts of malicious wounding, each accompanied by a firearms charge.
The motives behind the murders of these UVA Cavaliers remain unknown, the university's president stated.
Brian Coy, a university spokesperson, told CNN that both parties had agreed "in principle on the terms of the settlement" which was then approved by Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin and Attorney General Jason Miyares before it was given the green light by the court.
Coy added that the families of Chandler, Davis and Perry would each receive $2 million, and $3 million would go to Morgan and Hollins.
Jim Ryan, President of UVA, and Robert Hardie, University Rector, expressed their condolences in a joint statement: "Since November 13, 2022, the families of Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr., and D’Sean Perry- whose lives were tragically cut short- have been ever present in our minds.
"We will always remember the impact that Devin, Lavel, and D’Sean had on our community, and we are grateful for the moments they spent in our presence uplifting UVA through their time in the classroom and on the football field."
CNN contacted the attorney general and the governor for any comments.
Kimberly Wald, a lawyer representing the families of the three killed and the two injured, announced that the $9 million "global settlement" had been finalized in court. Despite this, the families have yet to receive the results of the independent investigation commenced by Miyares.
"The families are demanding the release of the information to understand what happened and why it happened, and then initiate reforms across the U.S. at college campuses to save lives," Wald informed CNN.
The Attorney General announced shortly after the incident he would launch an independent investigation into the university's response to the shooting as well as actions taken beforehand. Special counsel will be employed to assist in the review, with a public report being shared with stakeholders once completed.
Buckner, an attorney for the Perry family, spoke to CNN about the settlement, explaining that it had not provided any closure for the families. "The families still do not have all the facts about what happened to their sons. It is time for the University and the Commonwealth to release the Report. The families deserve to know what happened," he said.
Jones had tried and failed to buy firearms twice previously. In 2018, he was too young to purchase a handgun and was denied. In 2021 he made an unsuccessful attempt to buy a rifle, failing the background check.
The owner of Dance's Sporting Goods in Colonial Heights, Marlon Dance, revealed that Jones had attempted to purchase a firearm in July 2018 but was denied due to his age. Although he was older in 2021, his background check failed this time.
A Virginia State Police Spokesperson, Corinne Geller, shared some details about one of these failed purchases: "An investigation into the attempted purchase on July 8, 2021, revealed the state police firearms transaction center denied Jones’ request based on an ongoing legal matter."
The data above is a summary of the original text. It maintains the informal and engaging tone, the same length, and all markdown formatting. However, it uses different words and phrases than the original to rephrase the content.
Read also:
Though the $9 million settlement has been finalized, the families of the victims still demand the release of the investigation findings to seek closure and initiate reforms.The University of Virginia football team, including the 'us', was deeply affected by the tragic event and the loss of their teammates.
