D’Sean Perry, University of Virginia (UVA) junior and linebacker for the football team, the Cavaliers, was one of three victims of the late night parking lot shooting at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville on Nov. 14.
Perry, a studio art major, went to Gulliver Preparatory K-12 school located in Pinecrest, Fla. before signing to UVA as a three-star recruit. While in high school, he played as a linebacker, tight end and defensive lineman and was awarded South Florida Conference’s 2018 Defensive Player of the Year.
As of Nov. 14, Perry’s parents have declined to speak publicly about the passing of their son. Michael Haggard, managing partner of the Haggard Law Firm spoke on behalf of the family to Local 10 News.
“D’Sean’s parents, Happy and Sean Perry, and their entire family…thank the South Florida and Charlottesville communities for the outpouring of support during this impossibly tragic time,” Haggard said. “Right now, Happy and Sean will not speak publicly about the incident as their grief is only beginning, and out of respect for the University of Virginia community which has been terrorized by another mass shooting in the United States.”
On Monday afternoon, the UVA police department announced the alleged shooter is in custody. Christopher Jones Jr., a former football player on the UVA team, was at large for most of the day.
“The search for the suspect may be over, but the work of understanding this terrible crime and what motivated him to commit it is just beginning,” James Ryan, president of UVA said.
At his weekly press conference today, ‘Canes’ Head Football Coach Mario Cristobal spoke on the passing of not only Perry but of his teammates Devin Chandler and Lavel Davis Jr. According to the Miami Herald, Cristobal previously recruited Perry and Davis to play at the University of Oregon when Cristobal was a coach there.
“Just thoughts and prayers to the families man — good, good young people; Good young men with futures ahead of them and everyone that knows their families or doesn’t know their families, but associated with the conference, with college football, sports, life in general needs to do everything possible to support them because hat they’re going through is like nothing we could ever imagine or ever hope for, wish for upon anybody, so we’ve all got to really, really do everything we can to show support,” Cristobal said Monday.
Not only has this impacted many students at the University of Virginia but many UM students who have ties to the area. Ramsey Morris, from Richmond, Va. , was worried for the friends and family that he knows are enrolled there.
“My sister goes to UVA and a good amount of my friends from high school too,” junior media management major Morris said. . “They were on lockdown until the police caught the shooter and my sister was stuck in a friend’s apartment for the entire night.”
Samantha Barrios, Florida state director of Giffords, a center working against gun violence, and a Miami native and UVA alumnus, commented on the issue as well.
“As a former UVA student , I can only imagine the horror experienced on campus and at Charlottesville, VA while there was a shooter at loose in the community,” Barrios said. “Sunday nights are study days at libraries, cafes and study halls. These are all places students, faculty and staff should feel safe and not used to run, hide or fight.”
Barrios said the tragedy hit particularly close to home given Perry’s and her own shared hometown of Miami. She called for change.
“We must fight and move forward gun safety legislation to keep our schools, colleges and universities free from gun violence, our youth deserves better,” Barrios said.
UVA has planned to cancel classes for Nov. 15 as well and have told their professors to accommodate students with attendance or assignment delays due to the tragedy. They also canceled their Nov. 19 football matchup against Coastal Carolina.