Crime and Public Safety
The City of Roanoke has rolled out The Empathy Project, a collaboration between the Youth and Gang Violence Prevention team, several local artists and the Berglund Center. Stories and art connected to those who have lost loved ones to gun violence will be posted on the Empathy Project Facebook page; in partnership with the Berglund Center photographs of families impacted will also be posted on two billboards in Roanoke. Spoken/written word artist Bryan Brown Hancock penned, performed and recorded the tributes. Jane Gabrielle was the visual artist who did the paintings. The message: behind every gun violence statistic is a person with dreams, goals and families. City manager Bob Cowell:
Lavel Davis Jr. (left), D’Sean Perry (center), Devin Chandler (right)
Roanoke area delegate Sam Rasoul posted this message today, along with the GoFundMe links for the three UVA football players fatally shot on Sunday night: “Three families faced an immensely tragic loss this week. These three students were taken far too soon.” If you would like to contribute, here are the GoFundMe campaigns for the families of Lavel Davis, Jr., Devin Chandler, and D’Sean Perry.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/lavel-tyler-davis…
https://www.gofundme.com/f/g3hfhj-devin-chandler…
https://www.gofundme.com/f/paying-tribute-to-dsean…
Just down Route 29 from Charlottesville where three students at UVA were shot dead Sunday night by another student, the City of Lynchburg is no stranger to gun violence and now community leaders may soon have one more tool at the ready as they work to reduce those incidents. More from WFIR’s Gene Marrano:
Christopher Jones
UPDATE 11/14/22 1:00 p.m. – In a press conference late this morning, Campus Police Chief Timothy Longo said that the shooting took place around a charter bus that was returning to campus after a class field trip to a play. Approximately 25 people, apart from the victims, were present at the scene.
PREVIOUS 11/14/22 12:32 p. m. – Jones was listed as a freshman running back on UVA’s 2018 roster. His bio noted that he previously played for Petersburg and Varina High Schools in Virginia.
UPDATE 11/14/22 12:29 p.m. – UVA president Jim Ryan said this morning that the two other students injured in the shooting were hospitalized; he said one is in good condition and one is in critical condition. Ryan did not identify them.
UPDATE 11/14/22 11:23 a.m. – UVA Police say the suspect, Christopher Jones, has been taken into custody.
UPDATE 11/14/22 10:27 am – It appears that three victims of the shooting were on the UVA football team. Current UVA Defensive End D’Sean Perry was one of three people killed during an on-campus shooting last night, according to his father’s Twitter account. A source along with several tweets confirms that Wide Receiver Lavel Davis was also killed in the incident. Sources say Wide Reciever Devin Chandler, a transfer from the University of Wisconsin, has been confirmed as the third fatality in last night’s shooting.
UPDATE 11/14/22 — 1:17 AM: UVA officials urged the community to shelter in place following a “shots fired” incident. Campus police said in a tweet that they are searching for Christopher Jones in connection to the shooting at Culbreth Garage near the center of the campus. Multiple law enforcement agencies, including a Virginia state police helicopter, are actively searching for the suspect. The suspect is armed and dangerous, shelter in place. UVA President Jim Ryan says the shooting has resulted in three fatalities; two additional victims were injured and are receiving medical care.
From UVA Campus police: SUSPECT IS A B/M BURGANDY JACKET, BLUE JEANS, RED SHOES. MAY BE DRIVING A BLACK SUV VA TAG TWX3580
Christopher Jones
UVA officials reported a “shots fired” incident yesterday and urged the community to shelter in place. Campus police said in a tweet that they are searching for Christopher Jones in connection to the shooting at Culbreth Garage near the center of the campus.
(Roanoke County, VA—November 12, 2022) Roanoke County Fire and Rescue responded at 6:08 a.m. on Saturday, November 12, 2022 to the 1400 block of Skyview Road, in the Ft. Lewis area, for the report of a residential structure fire. Upon arrival, units from Station 9 (Ft.Lewis) found a one story home with fire and smoke showing from the basement door and the front door. The home was not occupied at the time of the fire and was undergoing renovations. The fire was knocked down in about 20 minutes. The home did sustain a partial floor collapse. There were no injuries. The Roanoke County Fire Marshal’s Office is on scene to investigate a cause and provide a damage estimate.
The Virginia Department of Corrections is calling on one particular group to fill out their ranks. George Sisson, a spokesman for the department, says that with Virginia having one of the Nation’s largest veteran populations, he wants more to fill his organization’s ranks. WFIR’s Emma Thomas has that story:
Roanoke County Chief of Police Howard Hall will retire after 10 years in that role at the end of the year. After what they called a nationwide search Hall’s successor will come from with – 28 year veteran Michael Poindexter. Poindexter has been the Assistant Chief of Police in Roanoke County since April. His background includes criminal investigations and human resources. Poindexter will become the fourth chief of police in Roanoke County since the department was formed in 1990 – the first African-American in that position.