Virginia cancels Virginia Tech game after player deaths
UVA community honors slain football players
Gospel music and the sound of choirs helped move an emotion memorial inside the John Paul Jones Arena for Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr., and D'Sean Perry, the three football players who were shot and killed by an alleged gunman after a school field trip last weekend.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - The University of Virginia has canceled its game against rival Virginia Tech scheduled for Saturday following the slaying of three football players on campus just over a week ago.
The university made the announcement Monday night, two days after a nearly two-hour memorial service to remember Lavel Davis Jr., Devin Chandler and D’Sean Perry. The three were fatally shot on Nov. 13 after a field trip to see a play in Washington.
"The decision was made following communication between the Atlantic Coast Conference, Virginia and Virginia Tech athletic department administration," Virginia Tech said in a statement. "The ACC and Virginia Tech continue to support UVA following the devastating tragedy ... ."
Authorities have said that Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., a UVA student and former member of the football team who was on the trip, began shooting at students on the bus as it pulled to a stop at a campus parking garage.
A prosecutor said in court last week that a witness told police the gunman targeted specific victims, shooting one as he slept. Two other students were wounded.
Jones, 23, faces second-degree murder and other charges stemming from the shooting, which set off a manhunt and 12-hour campus lockdown before Jones was apprehended in suburban Richmond. Jones is being held without bond.
Authorities have not released a motive.
Virginia also canceled a game against No. 23 Coastal Carolina last Saturday.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VIRGINIA - NOVEMBER 19: A University of Virginia football player speaks during a memorial service for three slain University of Virginia football players Lavel Davis Jr., DSean Perry and Devin Chandler at John Paul Jones Arena at the
Neither the Cavaliers (3-7, 1-6 Atlantic Coast Conference), under first-year coach Tony Elliott, nor the Hokies (3-8, 1-6), under first-year coach Brent Pry, have anything to lose by not playing their Commonwealth Cup game.
The Hokies, who endured a massacre that left 33 dead, including the gunman, in 2007, wore orange uniforms as they ended a seven-game losing streak with a 23-22 victory at Liberty on Saturday. The Hokies and Virginia share orange as a signature color.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.