What was U-Va. shooting suspect's motive? Clues offer possibilities. - The Washington Post

Jones inactive bought the clippers.

Hill was grasping to reconcile memories of his kind, outgoing person with reports of different Jones that emerged this week — an accused wide shooter. Authorities accidental Jones methodically changeable and killed 3 shot players, and injured 2 others connected a autobus that had conscionable returned to the U-Va. field from a tract travel Sunday night.

Six days later, possibly the biggest question astir the horrific calamity inactive haunts Hill, victims’ families and a grieving U-Va. community: Why?

Authorities person not released a motive for the rampage, and those who knew some fishy and victims person struggled to travel up with immoderate factual possibilities. Though Jones astatine 1 clip played football, erstwhile players said his 2018 stint was abbreviated and unremarkable, and determination was nary overlap betwixt him and those helium is accused of sidesplitting with bullets to the head. Family members person claimed Jones was bullied but person not provided details, and nary grounds has emerged to enactment those accounts. A witnesser to the shooting said Jones hardly interacted with those connected the tract travel helium is accused of shooting. One person who knew Jones from precocious schoolhouse said that recently, helium seemed to beryllium much withdrawn than she had remembered.

“It’s conscionable hard to effort to portion each this together, knowing the Chris we know,” Hill said.

The Virginia State Police, which took implicit the probe Thursday, said successful a connection that detectives are inactive moving to found the motive.

“Any declaration of a peculiar motive for the shootings would beryllium purely speculative and unfounded astatine this time,” the connection said. “Defining Jones’s motive is simply a precedence of those investigative efforts, and a task that takes clip to prosecute and achieve.”

A authoritative said astatine Jones’s arraignment this week that a witnesser connected the autobus told investigators that Jones appeared to beryllium aiming astatine definite people, but what — if thing — would pb him to people Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr. and D’Sean Perry remains murky.

Ryan Lynch, a U-Va. pupil who witnessed the shooting, said she was told by others connected the autobus that Jones said thing to the effect of, “You guys are ever messing with me,” earlier helium opened fire. But she said that remark was unusual due to the fact that she did not spot Jones interacting overmuch with different students. The radical had gone connected a travel to D.C. to spot a play astir Emmett Till and devour Ethiopian nutrient astatine a restaurant.

Michael Hollins Sr. said his lad Michael Hollins Jr. — who was injured successful the shooting — told him that Jones asked 1 of the players astir a video crippled earlier shooting. He added that his lad did not cognize Jones.

Lynch said she ducked to the level aft the barrage began astatine the backmost of the bus. Lynch yet peered retired from beneath a overgarment arsenic Jones strode down the halfway aisle of the autobus with a benignant of swagger, she said. Jones exited and fired much shots successful the air, she said.

He was arrested astir 12 hours aboriginal and 80 miles from campus, pursuing a shelter-in-place bid astatine U-Va. and a monolithic search.

The astir evident transportation betwixt Jones and 4 of the 5 victims is that they had each played astatine immoderate constituent for the U-Va. shot team. He was a loner connected the squad and quiet, and stayed to himself during practices, drills and value training, erstwhile players said.

But according to the players, determination was nary overlap betwixt victims and Jones — who was a subordinate concisely successful 2018. Perry joined U-Va. shot successful 2019, 1 twelvemonth aft Jones left. So, too, did Hollins, according to U-Va.'s website. Davis came connected squad successful 2020. Chandler was a caller transportation this twelvemonth from Wisconsin. The 5th unfortunate was a 19-year-old pistillate student; her household declined to comment.

Armando “Mandy” Alonso Jr. — a erstwhile subordinate of the shot squad from 2017 to 2021 — played with Jones arsenic good arsenic 2 of his victims, Davis and Perry.

“I don’t deliberation Chris ever knew oregon played with immoderate of them,” Alonso said. “He was lone determination for a fewer months.”

A antheral who opened the doorway astatine Jones’s mother’s location this week and identified himself arsenic Jones’s 19-year-old member said Jones had agelong been picked on, starting successful precocious schoolhouse and extending into college.

“It followed him,” the antheral said.

But the 19-year-old would not accidental who Jones claimed had harassed him, nor connection immoderate details connected what the harassment entailed.

He claimed his member was astatine the “breaking point.”

“He held it successful for excessively long,” helium said. “It’s been happening for months.”

Jones seemed to echo immoderate of those claims successful a 2021 interrogation with the U-Va. pupil paper — though helium suggested the bullying predated his clip successful college. A pupil named Christopher Jones, whose photograph accompanying the nonfiction appears to beryllium the aforesaid antheral arrested successful the shooting, said helium had recovered a location successful the school’s section of the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity, wherever helium was president.

“I was bullied a lot, and that caused maine to region myself from people,” Jones said. “And arsenic I got older, I realized that a batch of things successful beingness I can’t bash by myself, truthful I decided erstwhile I got to college, I was going to find a radical of radical like-minded, driven astir achievement. And I recovered it. I recovered Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Incorporated.”

Several members of the fraternity declined to remark to The Washington Post, with 1 saying they had been ordered by nationalist enactment not to talk to reporters. The nationalist enactment issued a connection offering condolences for the U-Va. calamity but did not notation Jones’s engagement with the fraternity. Executive Director John F. Burrell confirmed that members of the section astatine U-Va. had been asked not to talk publically astir Jones and declined to reply immoderate further questions.

Jones had been held up arsenic a exemplary of occurrence successful a 2018 profile successful the Richmond Times-Dispatch, overcoming a troubled puerility successful Richmond nationalist lodging complexes to triumph a spot astatine a premier nationalist university. But arsenic his world vocation progressed astatine U-Va., helium became enmeshed successful occupation connected and disconnected campus.

Former Charlottesville constabulary main Rashall Brackney said Jones and different U-Va. shot players were progressive successful a superior brawl astatine the Asado barroom adjacent U-Va. successful precocious 2019. It’s unclear if immoderate of the victims successful the caller shooting were successful immoderate mode connected to that fight.

The Charlottesville constabulary denied a nationalist records petition for a constabulary study connected the incidental but told a section newspaper astatine the clip that a U-Va. pupil was injured successful the combat and transported to a hospital.

The paper reported nary charges were filed successful the lawsuit due to the fact that the unfortunate did not cooperate with police. The proprietor of the barroom said successful an interrogation that helium did not callback the incident.

In 2020, Jones was charged for felony fleeing the country of an mishap for a clang that occurred successful Petersburg. The complaint was aboriginal reduced to a misdemeanor, and Jones pleaded nary contention and received a 12-month suspended sentence.

A Chesterfield County constabulary serviceman stopped Jones portion helium was driving successful February 2021 due to the fact that the tags connected his conveyance were not connected record and discovered during a hunt that Jones had a stolen firearm successful his waistband, according to a constabulary report.

Jones told police he “paid $500 from a feline astatine 711” for the gun, according to the report. Jones told the serviceman helium wanted the weapon for extortion for his household due to the fact that helium had mislaid 2 of his brothers. Family members did not respond to requests for remark astir that statement.

Jones was convicted of possessing a concealed firearm without a licence aboriginal successful 2021 and again received a suspended sentence.

In September, assemblage officials said a pupil informed administrators that Jones said helium owned a weapon during an probe into a “potential hazing issue,” which they person not detailed. University officials said the weapon study touched disconnected an probe by the menace appraisal team.

Jones’s roommate told the squad that helium did not spot Jones with a gun, but it appears the menace appraisal squad ne'er talked with Jones, and officials said helium did not cooperate with the probe. During the investigation, officials discovered Jones’s 2021 weapon conviction, which they said Jones had not reported to the assemblage arsenic required by schoolhouse rules.

School officials initially said they had referred Jones for disciplinary enactment for not disclosing his conviction, but aboriginal said they did not marque the referral until aft the shooting due to the fact that of an inadvertent error.

A handgun was recovered adjacent the country of the shooting and investigators discovered a firearm and handgun portion searching Jones’s residence successful Charlottesville aft the shooting, authorities constabulary said. All firearms person been sent to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for processing.

Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares announced Thursday that helium would name a peculiar counsel to analyse U-Va.’s handling of the events starring up to the shooting.

Jones is facing 3 counts of second-degree execution and different charges successful transportation with the shooting. His adjacent tribunal quality is Dec. 8. His lawyer declined to comment. A memorial work is scheduled for Saturday astatine U-Va.

The Wednesday earlier Jones opened occurrence connected his schoolmates, Morgan Johnson was with him successful the pupil center.

They had met successful that aforesaid spot astir 3 times a week this semester to instrumentality Swahili, a virtual people that U-Va. students successful the people opted to perceive to successful the aforesaid abstraction connected campus. Jones, Johnson said, was ever cracking jokes during their survey sessions.

“It was thing antithetic each day,” she said.

Johnson, a 21-year-old 4th year, remembered Jones asking her if she was excited to graduate. When she replied successful the affirmative, helium agreed: “Yeah, I’m acceptable to yet graduate,” she recalled him saying.

Johnson said she had nary thought that Jones had a firearm and was shocked to perceive that different pupil had reported that helium mightiness person had a weapon.

Kayla Hendrick, different 21-year-old 4th twelvemonth astatine U-Va., said she noticed a alteration successful Jones from the clip they went to precocious schoolhouse unneurotic successful Petersburg. Before coming to college, Hendrick described Jones arsenic “outgoing” and “goofy.” She said helium liked to sing “anything R&B” and was known for his smarts.

Hendrick reconnected with Jones this semester for the archetypal clip since precocious school. At the opening of the semester, she said she saw him astatine immoderate events astir campus, similar a municipality hallway organized by Black pupil groups. By November, she said she lone saw him successful world spaces and helium seemed to privation to walk his clip alone.

“You could archer has been done a batch these past 4 years,” she said. “His airy was dimmer. He was conscionable ever by himself.”

U-Va. President James E. Ryan said it whitethorn beryllium hard to ever marque consciousness of the events successful a video code to the field this week. Investigators person yet to uncover motives successful immoderate different high-profile wide shootings, similar the onslaught that near 58 dormant during a Las Vegas concert.

“It’s imaginable and possibly apt that we volition ne'er find 1 azygous happening that volition explicate this,” Ryan said. “It whitethorn besides beryllium that we that we ne'er genuinely recognize wherefore this happened. But what we larn we volition share.”

William H. Reid, a prof of psychiatry astatine the University of Texas who spent hours interviewing wide shooter James Holmes, said motives successful specified events typically look aboriginal successful the probe — determination is an evident anger, tendency for revenge oregon passionateness that sparked the rampage.

But helium said wide shooters are sometimes spurred to unit by triggers that mightiness not marque consciousness to idiosyncratic else.

“The things that spell connected successful assailant’s caput are routinely not the mean pathways that 1 would expect,” Reid said. “When you … effort to marque it look logical that’s precise often a fool’s errand. It has to bash with a caput that’s not moving good astatine slightest successful this peculiar area.”

Alice Crites and Karina Elwood contributed to this report.