Virginia cancels Virginia Tech game after two players are killed

The University of Virginia canceled its game against rival Virginia Tech scheduled for Saturday after three football players were killed on campus just over a week ago.

The university made the announcement Monday night, two days after a nearly two-hour memorial service in memory of Lavelle Davis Jr., Devin Chandler, and Dashin Berry. The three were killed on November 13 after a field trip to see a play in Washington.

“The decision was made following communication between the Atlantic Coast Conference, Virginia and Virginia Tech’s Department of Athletics management,” Virginia Tech said in a statement. “The ACC and Virginia Tech continue to support UVA after the devastating tragedy…”

Authorities said Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., a UVA student and former member of the football team who was on the trip, began shooting at the students on the bus as it was parked in a parking garage on campus.

The public prosecutor said in court last week that a witness told police the gunman targeted specific victims and shot one of them while he was asleep. Two other students were wounded.

Jones, 23, facing second-degree murder and other charges stemming from the shooting, led to a 12-hour manhunt and campus lockdown before Jones was arrested in a Richmond suburb. Jones is being held without bond.

Authorities have not released a motive.

Virginia also canceled a game against 23rd-ranked Coastal Carolina last Saturday.

Neither the Cavaliers (3-7, 1-6 Atlantic Coast Conference), under first-year head coach Tony Elliott, nor the Hockey League (3-8, 1-6), under first-year head coach Brent Brey, have anything to lose. Not playing the Commonwealth Cup match, the last scheduled match for both.

The Hokies, who suffered a massacre that left 33 people dead, including the gunman, in 2007, wore orange uniforms as they ended their seven-game losing streak with a 23-22 victory over Liberty on Saturday. The Hokies and Virginia both share orange as their signature color.

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