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Virginia Shooting Claims Lives of 3 Former Taulapapa Teammates

The Husky running back tweeted out an overnight reaction to the tragedy.
Dan Raley|
Virginia Shooting Claims Lives of 3 Former Taulapapa Teammates
Virginia Shooting Claims Lives of 3 Former Taulapapa Teammates

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Washington Huskies

Three students shot and killed at the University of Virginia on Sunday night were football players and former teammates for Wayne Taulapapa, now the University of Washington's starting running back.

Husky football coach Kalen DeBoer opened his Monday press briefing by mentioning the connection between teams and addressing the weekend tragedy.

"I want to make sure the University of Virginia football program knows our thoughts and prayers are with them," DeBoer said. "We are always about competition and a lot of what happens on Saturdays, but there's a brotherhood I know exists across college football and we're thinking about them." 

During a Monday news conference in Charlottesville, Virginia president Jim Ryan said the three players who were killed were junior receiver Lavel Davis Jr. of Dorchester, South Carolina; junior receiver Devin Chandler of Huntersville, North Carolina; and junior defensive end/linebacker D'Sean Perry of Miami.

Two other students were wounded, with one in critical condition and the other in good condition, the school president said.

“This is a sad shocking and tragic day for our UVA community,” Ryan said.

A former Cavaliers walk-on running back, Christopher Darnell Jones Jr. — a Virginia native who arrived in Charlottesville with Taulapapa as a member of the team's 2018 football class — was arrested and has been named as a suspect in the shooting and charged with three counts of second-degree murder, University of Virginia police chief Tim Longo said. 

Obviously distraught over the breaking news of the shooting at his former school that involved his friends and teammates, Taulapapa tweeted out numerous messages regarding the incident, beginning at 2 a.m. The Hawaii native played four seasons for the Cavaliers, serving as a team captain in 2021, until joining the Huskies as a portal transfer this year.

"Wayne has already been up to the offices today and we all collectively put our arms around him," UW offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb said. "He's hurting. He knew those kids well. It's a tough time for him right now. I know he'll give a lot of support to those families."

A another Husky connection to the tragedy is former UW sports information director Jim Daves, who holds that same job at Virginia now. 

Ryan, the school president, said the shooting took place on a charter bus after students returned to campus from a field trip. He called the incident a "sad, shocking and tragic day for the university community."

"Let me say how deeply sorry I am for the victims and for their family and friends," Ryan said. 

On Saturday, Perry was the only one of the three deceased players who appeared in the Cavaliers' game, a 37-7 loss to Pittsburgh at home.

Perry had 5 tackles in three games this season, including 2 against Pitt. He came up with an 84-yard interception return for a touchdown during his freshman season in 2020.

Davis contributed 16 catches for 371 yards and 2 touchdowns this season. As a freshman in 2020, he caught 20 passes for 515 yards and 5 TDs, averaging 25.8 yards per catch. He did not play during the 2021 season due to a knee injury that required surgery.

A transfer from Wisconsin, Chandler did not appear in a Virginia game this season. He caught 2 passes for 28 yards as a freshman for the Badgers in 2020.

The school canceled Monday night's basketball game between Virginia and Northern Iowa.

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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