Virginia cancels Week 12 game vs. Coastal Carolina after shooting that killed 3 players
Virginia will not play Coastal Carolina on Saturday.
The school announced Wednesday that its Week 12 game against the Chanticleers had been canceled in the wake of a shooting that killed three football players and wounded another on Sunday night. Another student was also wounded in the shooting.
Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr. and D’Sean Perry died Sunday night while Mike Hollins was wounded. The suspected shooter was a walk-on member of the football team in 2018. The shooting happened in a campus parking garage on Sunday night after a bus trip to see a theater production in Washington D.C. No alleged motive has been publicly released yet.
Saturday’s game against Coastal Carolina was set to be senior day and the final home game of the season for the Cavaliers. The school said Wednesday that it had not decided if it would play the final week of the season against Virginia Tech and a decision to play that game would be made at a later date.
Coastal Carolina said it totally understood and supported Virginia's decision not to play on Saturday.
"Our program is heartbroken for the University of Virginia, the victims' families, loved ones, friends, and the entire community of Charlottesville. While our football team was looking forward to competing against the University of Virginia, we support their decision not to play," Coastal Carolina coach Jamey Chadwell said in a statement from the school. "Our program will continue to uplift their program, University, and community in our prayers as they continue to navigate this difficult time. We all stand in solidarity with UVA."
Virginia athletic director Carla Williams and coach Tony Elliott spoke publicly for the first time after the shooting on Tuesday. An emotional Elliott detailed the grief his team had been going through in the hours after the shooting.
The alleged shooter was apprehended on Monday near Richmond, Virginia. According to multiple reports, university police were previously made aware of comments the alleged shooter had made this fall about possessing a gun, though his roommate said in an interview with campus investigators that he hadn’t seen or known of the alleged shooter having a gun.
The alleged shooter was also convicted in 2021 on a misdemeanor concealed weapons charge and received a 12-month suspended sentence. His father told WTKR that he was “a little paranoid when I talked to him about something” and that “he wouldn’t tell me everything” about allegations that the alleged shooter was being picked on.
Chandler transferred to Virginia from Wisconsin before the 2022 season. Davis had 36 catches in his Virginia career and averaged nearly 25 yards per grab. Perry had seven tackles in 2022 and also had an 84-yard pick six in 2020.