After players’ deaths, UVA cancels home finale
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- Joined ESPN.com in 2010.
- Graduate of the University of Florida.
Virginia has canceled its game against Coastal Carolina on Saturday after the shooting deaths of players Lavel Davis Jr., D’Sean Perry and Devin Chandler, the school announced Wednesday.
No decision has been made on the season finale against Virginia Tech on Nov. 26 in Blacksburg.
Davis, Perry, Chandler, running back Mike Hollins and another student were shot Sunday night after returning to campus from a class field trip. Hollins survived but remains hospitalized after being shot in the back. The other student who survived is considered to be in good condition.
The suspected shooter is former Virginia football player Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., who was arrested by police Monday. Jones, 22, was denied bond during a court hearing Wednesday.
Jones faces three counts of second-degree murder, two counts of malicious wounding and additional gun-related charges. Jones did not enter a plea Wednesday. Appearing by video link from jail, Jones told the judge he plans to hire an attorney, but the judge appointed a public defender to represent him for the time being.
The judge also set a status hearing in the case for Dec. 8.
In a news conference Tuesday, Virginia athletic director Carla Williams said her department would consult with coach Tony Elliott and the team about playing Saturday’s game.
“Obviously, they’re going through a lot, and we want to make sure they’re involved as well. We’ll use our best judgment,” Williams said.
Coastal Carolina expressed support for the decision to cancel the game.
“As much as we love gameday and the spirit it brings, there is a time when the sanctity of life and sustaining of a community take precedence. This is one of those times,” Matt Hogue, Coastal Carolina’s vice president for intercollegiate athletics, said in a statement. “We fully support the decision and will continue offering our assistance and contribute however we can toward the healing of our friends and colleagues at UVA.”
Classes at Virginia resumed Wednesday, and a campuswide event honoring the victims was in the works.
ESPN’s Mark Schlabach and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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