The University of Virginia student held in the killings of three students and wounding of two had been the subject of a recent investigation, campus police said. The student affairs office interviewed the suspect's roommate after the school's threat assessment team received a report in September that Christopher Darnell Jones had talked about having a gun, NBC News reports. The roommate reported not seeing Jones with a gun. "The comment about Mr. Jones owning a gun was not made in conjunction with any threats," campus Police Chief Timothy Longo said Monday. The office also tried to contact the suspect, per the Washington Post; it wasn't clear if the investigation then ended.
The suspect also had been investigated in connection with a school hazing investigation that didn't go far because witnesses wouldn't cooperate, Longo said. In February 2021, the suspect was involved in a "criminal incident involving a concealed weapon violation," the chief told reporters, saying that it took place outside Charlottesville, where the university is located. Jones, being a student, was required to report the case to the university but didn't, Longo said. The school filed administrative charges, per the Post; that case is still pending. Officials said the suspect is being charged with three counts of second-degree murder and three counts of using a handgun in the commission of a felony, per the New York Times. The three students shot to death were members of the football team. (More campus shooting stories.)
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
