CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — A University of Virginia student accused of killing three members of the school's football team and wounding two other students in an on-campus shooting will be held without bond, a judge ordered Wednesday.
Christopher Darnell Jones Jr. did not enter a plea to the numerous charges he faces during his first court appearance. 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.
University officials and police have said Jones, 22, joined a group of about two dozen others on a field trip Sunday from the Charlottesville campus to see a play in the nation’s capital, about 120 miles (195 kilometers) away. When their bus arrived back on campus, authorities have said Jones opened fire, killing Lavel Davis Jr., D’Sean Perry and Devin Chandler, and wounding two others, one of them also a football player.
Jones — who police have said was able to flee the shooting scene, setting off a manhunt and 12-hour campus lockdown — faces three counts of second-degree murder, two counts of malicious wounding and additional gun-related charges.
The violence at the state’s flagship public university has set off days of mourning among students and faculty, the broader Charlottesville community and other supporters. Classes resumed Wednesday.
Jones has been in custody since he was arrested in suburban Richmond late Monday morning. Albemarle County Commonwealth’s Attorney James Hingeley is handling the case against him.
