UVA remembers 3 football players killed in November

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WWBT) - Hundreds gathered Friday to honor the lives of the three UVA football players killed last November before the university’s first home game.

Nearly 10 months since Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr., and D’Sean Perry were shot and killed by another student, many say the loss is still raw and incomprehensible.

”It’s still hard to accept the idea that this violence can happen on our grounds,” James Ryan, President of UVA, said. “That this can happen to young and vibrant people who were full of life and promise.”

After returning from a field trip in Washington, D.C., the players had just arrived back on the grounds in a bus when they were shot and killed.

Two other students, Mike Hollins and Marlee Morgan, were also hurt that night.

Ahead of Saturday’s big home game, a tree was planted on the UVA Arts Ground and a memorial plaque to remember those students and the joy they brought to this world.

“It is my hope that this tree planted with care, with love, and with one another will help us to heal,” Ryan said. “It will help us not to move on as these students will never be forgotten but to move forward as Coach Elliot has wisely said.”

Devin, Lavel, and D’Sean’s families were at the ceremony to help plant the tree and help the football team deal with this loss.

“The University of Virginia family will forever remember these young men, their illustrious accomplishments, and the legacy they have left behind for the community that held them at such high esteem. 1, 15, 41,” Ryan said.

The students will also be honored at Saturday’s first home football game of the year against JMU.

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