RICHMOND, Va. -- Virginia Commonwealth University has increased police patrols on its Richmond campus following a deadly shooting at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. The college campuses are approximately 70 miles from each other.
"VCU sends our deepest sympathies to everyone affected by the shooting at UVA," the school tweeted. "We have offered assistance to the UVA community & we stand with them. [VCU Police] will have increased presence on campus."
VCU sends our deepest sympathies to everyone affected by the shooting at @UVA. We have offered assistance to the UVA community & we stand with them. @VCUPD will have increased presence on campus. Support for VCU students, faculty & staff can be found at https://t.co/ZNSDrQfPNO.
— VCU (@VCU) November 14, 2022
The tweet made no mention of a threat to the downtown Richmond campus.
Classes at UVa. were canceled Monday a day after the shooting and the Charlottesville campus seemed deserted as authorities searched for the suspect, who University of Virginia President Jim Ryan identified as Christopher Darnell Jones Jr.
Jones is from the Richmond area having attended both Varina High School and Petersburg High School.
He is wanted in a fatal shooting at a University of Virginia parking garage that killed three people and wounded two others.
The UVA Police Department is looking for Christopher Darnell Jones regarding the shooting incident that occurred on the grounds of the University of Virginia. Call 911 if seen, do not approach. pic.twitter.com/mKcxF6ksxw
— UVA Police Department (@UVAPolice) November 14, 2022
In a letter to the university posted on social media, Ryan said the shooting happened around 10:30 p.m. Sunday.
The university’s emergency management issued an alert 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. The shelter-in-place order was lifted at about 10:45 a.m. Monday.
Access to the shooting scene was blocked by police vehicles Monday morning. The city and campus were far quieter than normal, with only a smattering of traffic and dog-walkers.
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 to have committed the shooting and that he was a student, who was still at large Monday morning.
“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 Twitter account said shortly before 7 a.m. Monday that “a complete search on and around UVA Grounds” by law enforcement was underway and urged people on campus to remain sheltered.
Eva Surovell, 21, the editor in chief of the student newspaper, The Cavalier Daily, said that after students received an alert about an active shooter late Sunday night, she ran to the parking garage, but saw that it was blocked off by police. When she went to a nearby intersection, she was told to go shelter in place.
“A police officer told me that the shooter was nearby and I needed to return home as soon as possible,” she said.
She waited with other reporters, hoping to get additional details, then returned to her room to start working on the story. The gravity of the situation sunk in.
“My generation is certainly one that's grown up with generalized gun violence, but that doesn't make it any easier when it's your own community,” she said.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said agents were responding to the campus to assist in the investigation.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
This is a developing story, so anyone with more information can email newstips@wtvr.com to send a tip.
