The students were enrolled in a class on African American playwrights taught by a UVA professor. Five of them were Virginia Cavaliers football players. Christopher Jones was not in the playwrights class, but the same professor taught a separate social justice course in which Jones was enrolled, and Jones had been invited to join the field trip. Before the bus reached Washington, Jones sent his family messages saying he loved them and that something would happen today. On the ride home he sat alone, behind a female student and behind Lavel Davis Jr. He talked quietly to himself. About two hours before the shooting Jones texted an adult mentor, asking the man to contact a criminal defense attorney, and complained that the football players had been messing with him all day. Just before the shooting Davis and Jones had a brief friendly conversation about video games.

When the gunfire started, some students ran. Some did not. Mike Hollins, another football player, evacuated with two other students - and then turned around and went back into the bus to help his friends when he realized no one else had gotten out. He was wounded when he did. The chartered bus, by the end of the night, held three dead UVA football players: Devin Chandler, a third-year student from Huntersville, North Carolina; D'Sean Perry, a third-year student from Miami; and Lavel Davis Jr., a third-year student from Dorchester, South Carolina. All three had been shot in the head. Two others, including Hollins, were hospitalized in moderate condition. Head football coach Tony Elliott was called by an uninjured player at around 10:30 p.m. He went directly to the hospital. Multiple other coaches and athletics staff joined him there. A shelter-in-place order kept the campus locked down for about twelve hours.

Jones tried to throw his pistol onto the roof of a library building. The pistol did not stay on the roof. He removed his hoodie and jacket, leaving them behind along with two Glock magazines and 16 rounds of 9mm ammunition. Then he drove away. A Henrico County officer who had been watching for a car matching the suspect's description spotted Jones the next morning. He was taken into custody without incident at 11:24 a.m. on November 14 in Henrico County, the same area where he had attended high school. Jones had briefly been a UVA walk-on football player as a freshman in 2018 but had not played in any games. Relatives later said he had been hazed and bullied at UVA. A February 2021 concealed-weapon violation outside Charlottesville had also been investigated. He had failed a 2021 background check before purchasing the firearms used in the shooting earlier in 2022.

Classes were canceled the Monday and Tuesday after the shooting. Students returned to ungraded coursework on Wednesday. A vigil was held the next day around the campus Homer statue, candles arranged with the players' uniform numbers - 1, 15, 41 - and the words UVA Strong. The November 19 home finale against Coastal Carolina was canceled. So was the November 26 regular-season finale against Virginia Tech. On November 20, 2024, Jones pleaded guilty. He faced 13 charges - five counts of unlawful firearm use, six counts of aggravated murder, and two counts of malicious bodily injury. On November 21, 2025, after a week-long sentencing hearing, Judge Cheryl Higgins sentenced Jones to five life sentences plus 23 years. He was sent to Red Onion State Prison. In 2025 Mike Hollins received the NCAA Inspiration Award, honoring his determination after a life-altering event. Devin Chandler, D'Sean Perry, and Lavel Davis Jr. were buried in their hometowns. They were 20 and 21 years old.