Attorney General Jason Miyares has chosen the law firm Quinn Emanuel to conduct an external review of the Nov. 13 shooting that left three students — second-year student Devin Chandler, third-year student Lavel Davis and fourth-year student D'Sean Perry — fatally shot.
Two additional students, third-year student Mike Hollins and second-year student Marlee Morgan, were injured in the shooting and were later discharged from U.Va. Health. The lives of Chandler, Davis and Perry were honored at a memorial service Nov. 19 and the University recently awarded posthumous degrees to all three individuals.
“Understandably, there are many questions about the events that led to the tragedy at the University of Virginia,” Miyares said. “At the appropriate time, a report will be released to the public to help answer those questions.”
William Burck and Crystal Nix-Hines, co-chairs the firm’s crisis law and strategy group, will direct the review and Zachary Terwilliger, former U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, will be appointed special counsel for related federal, state and local law enforcement pertaining to the shooting.
University President Jim Ryan and Rector of the Board of Visitors Whitt Clement first requested the independent and external review Nov. 17. In a statement, Clement said the law firm’s appointment is an important step in answering questions surrounding the shooting and the University’s role leading up to it.
“As this process moves forward, we are committed to developing a comprehensive understanding of this event, to sharing a report with a public who want answers as much as we do and to continuing to refine our policies and procedures to keep our community safe,” Clement said.
Virginia State Police is also conducting a separate criminal investigation into the shooting in coordination with the University of Virginia Police Department.
Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., the suspect in the shooting, made his first in-person appearance in court Thursday morning for a status hearing, though he appeared via video chat for an arraignment Nov. 16. He is being held without bail at Albemarle County Regional Jail.
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