MIAMI — Floridians are mourning a University of Virginia football player who is from South Florida and was one of three killed in a shooting on the UVA campus in Charlottesville.
University police say the suspect - who is a student - is in custody after an hours-long search. Sunday night, a bus of roughly 25 students was returning from Washington, DC to watch a play when the suspect opened fire on that bus.
The UVA president identified the victims as football players Devon Chandler, Lavell Davis, and Miami native D’Sean Perry.
“He was very competitive, yet very humble," said Justin Cardoza. "He was very popular but wasn’t a follower. He was kind of like the leader of the pack.”
The junior linebacker at UVA was originally from Miami, where he attended Gulliver Prepatory playing football and basketball Cardoza coached Perry since 8th grade.
“We texted pretty often. I haven’t been able to open those texts up yet,” the coach said, getting emotional. He remembers last seeing Perry this past March.
“I get very emotional thinking about what his parents might be going through right now," he said. "They put everything into him, and they are a tight-knit family.”
Perry’s parents, per attorney Michael Haggard, say they thank South Florida and the Charlottesville community for the support they’ve received, however, they will not be speaking publicly out of respect for the UVA community which has been "terrorized by another mass shooting in the United States."
Coach Cardoza just hopes that this athlete with a love for the arts, his faith, and his family is never forgotten.
“I think he was more special of a person than he was an athlete, and he was a really good athlete," said Cardoza. "He was everything you would want a student-athlete to be. He was a friend; a son.
"If my son grows up to be like D’Sean, ill be happy.”
This report first aired on Florida 24 Network, which combines the resources of WFTX Fox 4 and Scripps-owned stations and resources throughout the state — click here to watch FL24 live.
