Father of UVA shooting suspect apologizes, says he 'still can't believe' what happened

A student places flowers at a memorial following the shooting at UVA.
(Image credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images)

The father of the University of Virginia shooting suspect spoke out Monday, and apologized on his son's behalf.

Christopher Darnell Jones Sr. told WWBT-TV Richmond that he "still can't believe" what happened. His son, UVA student Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., is the primary suspect in Sunday's shooting on the university's Charlottesville campus. The attack left three members of the school's football team dead and injured two more. The suspect was a member of the football team himself in 2018, but did not play any games, USA Today reported.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

The suspect's father said the last time he spoke to his son was one month ago, and that "he seemed like he was doing really well ... He still was upbeat, and he was positive."

"I don't know what happened between then and now to cause this to happen," Jones Sr. added.

Despite this, though, Jones Sr. said something seemed off with his son when they talked.

"He had some problems the last time I talked to him. He said some people were picking on him or whatever, he didn't know how to handle it and I told him just go to school, don't pay it any mind," Jones Sr. said. "I don't know what to say except I'm sorry on his behalf, and I apologize ... I don't know what happened to cause all of this."

Justin Klawans, The Week US

Justin Klawans has worked as a staff writer at The Week since 2022. He began his career covering local news before joining Newsweek as a breaking news reporter, where he wrote about politics, national and global affairs, business, crime, sports, film, television and other news. Justin has also freelanced for outlets including Collider and United Press International.