CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WAVY) — Monday marked one year since the tragic shooting at UVA that took the lives of three students.

The university held a moment of silence Monday afternoon. They also tolled the bell three times to honor the lives of Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr. and D’Sean Perry, the three football players killed in the shooting.

The shooting happened on the grounds of UVA around 10:30 p.m. Nov. 13, 2022 following a class field trip to Washington D.C.

Two other students, Marlee Morgan and Mike Hollins, who is also a football player, were both hurt.

Devin Chandler’s dad was in the Navy and was stationed all over the country. His family says he was a resilient kid who was able to handle change very easily.

Sasha Jones said her husband coached Devin and they first met him when he was living in Memphis. She said they still can’t believe he’s gone.

“It was hard to comprehend it then; its hard to comprehend it now,” Jones said. “This is a year later, but the hurt doesn’t go away. for everyone who knew Devin, we are still in shock that he’s not here.”

Jones said when she knew Devin, he was a 6th grader looking for additional training because he wanted to go to a top college and play football professionally.

“My husband trained a lot of kids over the years, but he only had a few that we would say that’s a kid like Devin,” Jones said, “a kid that would put in the time and the energy and go the extra mile every single time.”

Since Devin’s father was in the Navy, they moved around a lot, living in several states, including Florida, Hawaii and North Carolina.

“You know you hear about shootings, you hear about violent incidents that happen on campuses,” Jones said, “but you never think it’s going to impact you or your family or your friends and then in this occasion it did.”

Jones said after Devin’s family moved away from Memphis, they stayed in touch. She said Devin’s loss was so unexpected for his family and moving forward is hard.

“They’re still grieving and coping, they’re doing the best they can but its still difficult,” Jones said. “This is a hard thing for us to process because Devin was doing everything he was supposed to be doing, he was in college, he was a good student, he was on a class activity, he was doing what he was supposed to do and yet this still happened to him.”

Jones is asking for thoughts and prayers for Devin’s mom and brother during this tough time.
She said the family asks for their privacy, especially coming up on the holiday season.

Governor Youngkin ordered all flags of the United States of America and the Commonwealth of Virginia to be flown at half-staff on all state and local buildings and grounds from sunrise to sunset on Nov. 14 in remembrance of the three students killed one year ago.