On Sunday night, suspect Christopher Darnell Jones allegedly shot five people on the University of Virginia campus. Three victims died and two were injured, according to the most recent reports. The students who did not survive the shooting are Devin Chandler, Lavel “Tyler” Davis, and D’Sean Perry — all of whom were football players. The university police department has announced that Jones is now in custody, but UVA students spent a long evening and morning sheltering in place.
As you likely know, Katie is a UVA alumnus. To get a better sense of how people on campus are feeling during this chaotic and traumatizing time, Katie spoke to current student Eva Surovell, the editor-in-chief of the Cavalier Daily — UVA’s student newspaper.
“We got an email at about 10:30 last night,” Surovell told Katie in an Instagram live. The message ordered students to immediately take shelter. Because students were living the typically active, busy lives of undergrads, that meant hunkering down in odd places: “I have friends in libraries. I have friends underneath the Aquatic and Fitness Center.”
Because the students had to stay put, Surovell reports that “a lot of people have gone more than 12 hours without food.” She also notes that she doesn’t have any food in her own shelter, and that she and some friends could only use the bathroom after sprinting to the facilities.
“I think this generation has unfortunately witnessed a lot of gun violence throughout our lifetimes,” Surovell told Katie. “But I don’t think that prepares anyone to experience it themselves.”
Watch the full interview below for more on the current situation on campus.
