close
close

UVA commemorates Lavel Davis Jr., Devin Chandler and D’Sean Perry on their two-year anniversary

UVA commemorates Lavel Davis Jr., Devin Chandler and D’Sean Perry on their two-year anniversary

1.15.41.

Lavel Davis Jr. Devin Chandler. D’Sean Perry.

After two years, these three young men remain in the hearts and minds of their families, the UVA football program and the communities of the University of Virginia and Charlottesville.

On November 13, 2022, a tragic shooting on a bus returning from a school trip to Washington, D.C. claimed the lives of UVA football players Lavel Davis Jr., Devin Chandler and D’Sean Perry. Two years later, that senseless act of violence remains unthinkable, but the memories of these young men live on in the minds of their friends, families and loved ones, as well as the school, town and community they called home.

On Wednesday, the two-year anniversary of the tragedy, the University of Virginia will honor Davis Jr., Chandler and Perry. Those on Grounds are asked to step outside Wednesday afternoon at 1:55 p.m. to observe a moment of silence, followed by the first verse of “Amazing Grace” and then the UVA Chapel bells will ring three times.

Additionally, students can pick up orange ribbons and write reflections on the South Lawn from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. At 7 p.m., students plan to gather on the steps of Old Cabell Hall to light candles.

“Today at 1:55 p.m., the UVA Chapel bells will ring to honor the lives of Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr. and D’Sean Perry. The bells will ring the first verse of “Amazing Grace,” followed by three bells to remember each of these student-athletes. As we mark the two-year anniversary of our passing, we invite everyone in the UVA community to pause, reflect and remember Chandler, Davis and Perry. Let us honor their memory together stand in unity and support for all those touched by their lives #UVAStrong.”

During his weekly press conference on Tuesday, UVA head football coach Tony Elliott was asked about the two-year anniversary of the shooting and the ongoing challenge of handling and processing it with the team, especially those players who were not in Virginia two years ago. . Here was Elliott’s response:

“I wouldn’t say challenging, no, because as long as I’m the head coach, it’s always going to be a part of who we are, kind of the structure of this staff and this program since the staff took over. The sensitivity, right, is probably the area that you need to pay the most attention to because again a lot of those guys came here knowing, but they haven’t experienced it. So you have to be sensitive to the fact that they I don’t quite know yet. They want to hug each other and all that you have to kind of respect their boundaries. And at the same time, you also want to be considerate of those who were here, where they are, because not everyone is in the same space, right?

I know the process that I personally have had to go through just to start the healing process and still in the healing process of that, and not everyone is in the same space. So from a challenge perspective, it will always be part of what we do. There will never be a time when we are not aware of it, aware of it, but at the same time, in order to move forward, we have to create some kind of normal here and be sensitive. that not everyone was part of it.

Tomorrow will be difficult for many. And rightly so. Probably harder – I wouldn’t say probably. Things are going to be harder for the Davis family, the Chandler family and the Perry family. But I want to embrace their hardships based on what I believe and what my faith tells me that I have a responsibility to persevere with everyone I am associated with and connected to. So we’re going to keep it going tomorrow, but then I also have the opportunity to bring joy, and the way I do that is go to work every day, be the best version of myself, and then help this football team be the best . version of themselves, because I’m pretty sure all three families felt a lot of joy last Saturday night seeing the Cavaliers play well and walk away with the win.

So we will certainly have the families in our thoughts and prayers and not just them. It’s going to be a tough day for Mike (Hollins) because Mike is still here. It’s going to be a tough day for Marlee (Morgan), all the students who were on the bus. This community. I mean, it’s going to be a tough day. But what I am saying is that we can have confidence in knowing that we have persevered. Man, we’ve shown what our character is all about, and now when I said we were going to turn the tragedy into triumph, we’re kind of coming out of that stage where we can now walk with some confidence and bring about the triumph and the beauty that had to come out of such a hard and difficult situation.”

As we do our part to honor the legacy of Lavel Davis Jr., Devin Chandler and D’Sean Perry, we’ve rounded up a few of our favorite video tributes and are reposting them below. First, here is the video that UVA produced and played at the end of the memorial service held at John Paul Jones Arena the weekend after the shooting.

Here is the video feature Andrea Adelson produced that week for ESPN College Gameday:

At the 2023 NFL Draft in Kansas City, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell invited the families of each of the victims to the stage before announcing that Davis, Chandler and Perry were selected as the honorary first picks of the 2023 NFL Draft.

Ahead of Virginia’s first home game at Scott Stadium in 2023, Samuel L. Jackson shared a tribute video for UVA Strong Day: