University of Virginia shooting victim is no longer intubated and is out of ICU, family friend says

By Travis Caldwell, Amy Simonson and Amanda Musa, CNN

Michael Hollins, the University of Virginia football player who was seriously wounded in Sunday’s mass shooting, was taken off intubation and moved from the hospital’s intensive care unit, a family friend told CNN on Thursday.

“Mike is doing better today,” Gipson said. “He is in intermediate care and progressing positively. He will hopefully begin to take some steps today.”

A day earlier, Hollins’ family said he had two successful surgeries and asked for the community’s prayers.

“We want to start by thanking God for His grace that continues to guide our family through this unspeakable tragedy. In the last 48 hours, Mike has successfully made it through two surgeries. We want to thank his doctors and care team at University of Virginia Hospital. In the coming days and weeks, Mike will begin the long process of healing,” the statement said.

“As Mike starts down the path toward healing — physically, emotionally and spiritually — the process will take time. We ask that you respect his privacy and continue giving him space to mend.”

The health update comes days after officials say a student fatally shot three other UVA football players — Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr. and D’Sean Perry — and wounded Hollins and another student on a bus returning to campus from a class field trip. The circumstances behind the shooting that has shattered the Charlottesville community remains under police investigation.

Also on Thursday, university officials requested an independent review of the shooting.

In a letter to Attorney General Jason Miyares, UVA President Jim Ryan and University Rector Whitt Clement asked for the appointment of “outside special counsel with expertise … to conduct an independent review of the University’s response to the shooting, as well as the efforts the University undertook in the period before the tragedy.”

Miyares announced Thursday his office will begin an external review of the events that led to the shooting. His spokesperson, Victoria LaCivita, said in a release the AG’s office will enlist special counsel to assist in completing the work.

“A public report will be shared with students, families, the larger UVA community, and government officials at the appropriate time,” LaCivita said. “The Attorney General will work with deliberate speed while ensuring that all necessary resources remain devoted to the criminal investigation being conducted by state and local authorities.”

Suspect purchased guns after earlier failed attempts

The suspect, Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., 22, legally purchased firearms on two separate occasions after being prevented from doing so years earlier, according to the gun shop that made the sales. He attempted to buy a firearm in 2018 and 2021, but neither of the sales or transfers were completed, Dance’s Sporting Goods owner Marlon Dance told CNN.

Jones was under the legal purchasing age of 21 to buy a handgun in 2018 and failed a background check trying to buy a rifle in 2021 due to a pending criminal charge. “Jones DID NOT receive either of the firearms he attempted to purchase, and both attempted purchases were forwarded to the Virginia State Police for further action,” Dance said in a statement.

The suspect was able to purchase a rifle in February and a 9mm pistol in July, according to the statement, and there was “nothing noteworthy” about the 2022 purchases.

It is unclear whether either of the weapons purchased by Jones this year were used in Sunday’s shooting, but police confirmed that a prior hold on his ability to buy firearms due to an ongoing legal matter in 2021 was dropped.

A pending charge Jones faced “was reduced to a misdemeanor by the court in October 2021, thereby removing the prohibition against future purchases,” Virginia State Police spokesperson Corinne Geller said in a statement.

Jones was also the subject of a gun-related probe by the university’s judicial council prior to the shooting, in which a student reported Jones “made a comment to him about possessing a gun,” according to university spokesperson Brian Coy. Jones “repeatedly refused to cooperate with University officials” and his case was escalated for further review and possible disciplinary action, Coy said.

In Sunday’s shooting, Jones faces three charges of second-degree murder and three counts of using a handgun in the commission of a felony, UVA Police Chief Timothy Longo Sr. said. He also faces two counts of malicious wounding, each accompanied by a firearm charge.

Jones’ first court appearance Wednesday resulted in him being held without bond, the court ordered. He remains in custody in Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail, online records show, and his next court hearing will be in December, according to Albemarle County Commonwealth’s attorney Jim Hingeley.

How the shooting started

Student Ryan Lynch told CNN affiliate KYW-TV she was on the bus where the shooting took place and saw Jones push one of the victims.

“Chris got up and pushed Lavel,” Lynch said. “After he pushed him, he was like ‘You guys are always messing with me.’ Said something weird like that, but it was very bizarre because they didn’t talk to him the whole trip.”

Lynch then heard gunfire, she told KYW.

“They just kept coming, more and more gunshots,” she said. “We thought he was going to shoot everyone on the bus.”

But “the shooter just kind of walked or, like, skipped off the bus,” Lynch said.

According to Hingeley at Wednesday’s court appearance, a witness to the shooting said Devin Chandler, one of the three killed, was shot while sleeping.

After a campus lockdown and manhunt for the suspected shooter, Jones was spotted driving a vehicle and apprehended by police Monday about 80 miles east of Charlottesville in Henrico County.

Loss of 3 killed felt by many

Students, faculty and the community at large gathered Monday night at a candlelight vigil on campus on commemorate the lives of Perry, Davis and Chandler.

“We are all fortunate to have them be a part of our lives,” Cavaliers head coach Tony Elliott said of the three. “They touched us, inspired us and worked incredibly hard as representatives of our program, university and community.”

Davis was described as a gentle giant whose smile would light up the room, Elliott said at a news conference Tuesday. It resonated “how much he loved his teammates and would do anything for his teammates,” Elliott added.

Perry was “a delightful, respectful, hardworking person who was one of the best overall young men our community’s had to offer,” said his high school football coach, Earl Sims, Jr., who described Perry on Wednesday as “like a son.”

Perry’s family in a statement said he “made his family proud” through his faith and good deeds.

“Football and art was his passion, but the love that he had for his family, friends and his community was proven time and time again through his candid dedication. We truly appreciate the outpouring of love and support from so many people. We continue to keep the families of the other victims of this senseless tragedy in our prayers,” they said.

Adam Sykes, Chandler’s former high school coach, said Chandler “just wanted to make those around him as happy as he was” and often put others first.

“Even during his junior year when his dad passed away in the middle of the season, he came to me and said, ‘Coach, I want to play this week. My dad would want me to play this week.’ That was his character: always thinking of others,” Sykes said.

The Cavaliers’ upcoming game Saturday against Coastal Carolina has been canceled. A memorial service at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville will be held Saturday afternoon.

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CNN’s Joe Johns, Aileen Graef, Amir Vera, Holly Yan, Christina Zdanowicz, Eric Levenson, Caroll Alvarado, Michelle Watson, Sharif Paget, Chimaine Pouteau, Jessica Prater and Matt Foster contributed to this report.