By Bilal G. Morris
Donations have been rolling into the GoFundMe campaigns for the family of the three University of Virginia (UVA) football players killed last week by a former player.
Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr., and D’Sean Perry were killed during an on-campus shooting by Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., a former walk-on player on the football team.
Darnell Jones Jr was arrested and faces three charges of second-degree murder and three counts of using a handgun in the commission of a felony. A bio on UVA’s sports website describes Jones as a one-time football player who was on the Cavaliers’ roster for one season in 2018, though it also said he never played one game.
After the tragic incident, it didn’t take long for the community to rally behind the families of the deceased young Black men.
A GoFundMe account for Lavel “Tyler” Davis Jr., who played wide receiver for the UVA Cavaliers, was created just hours after he and two other football players were killed. As of Monday morning, the account setup for Davis Jr. has raised over $180k, with well over 3,000 donations.
A GoFundMe for Devin Chandler was also created by a family friend not long after his tragic death. Shelly Crais, the organizer of the page and a former co-worker of Chandler’s mother, created the page to help support the family through trying these times. The page has already raised $200k with almost 3,000 donations, with a notable $50k donation from Kyrie Irving.
The GoFundMe for D’Sean Perry, which was organized by family friend Matteo Uccelli, was created just a few days after Chandler’s. In the page’s description, Perry is described as “the kindest soul and a positive impact on anyone who had the privilege of knowing him.” The page has generated over $150k with more have 2,400 donations.
“He was the most unique and talented person that I’ve had the privilege to call my friend, wrote Uccelli. “D’Sean was truly one of a kind and I cannot begin to imagine the pain Happy, Sean, Dominique, D’Shandra, and his extended family are feeling during this impossibly tragic time. Losing a child is unimaginable and I ask for your assistance in lessening the burden and donating to assist the family during this terrible tragedy.”
All of the proceeds from the fundraiser will go to the Perry Family.
