Father of football player killed in the UVA mass shooting, Sean Perry, recently shared his final text message exchange with D’Sean Perry.
According to CBS, Sean’s last text message exchange with D’Sean were just before 9 p.m. on Nov. 12–the day before the young man’s untimely death. That day, the linebacker had just registered two solo tackles in the Virginia Cavaliers vs Pittsburgh Panthers game.
“Everything good sir? Just checking up,” Sean texted his son after the game.
“Yea, you watched the game today?” the UVA junior replied.
At around 6 p.m. the following day, his dad texted him a video clip of Saturday’s game in the fourth quarter. Along with the clip, Sean added some encouraging words to his son, saying, “Keep on working.”
Later that evening, Sean texted his son once more, asking him, “Yo good up there?” Sadly, those were the last words he texted D’Sean, as the promising talent had been shot about a half an hour prior. Unbeknownst to the athlete’s father, he was on a bus “full of students” near a campus parking garage when police responded to a call about gunshots. He was later pronounced dead.
As reported by News Onyx, D’Sean was one of three University of Virginia football players who tragically died in the alleged shooting. The two other victims were identified as South Carolina native Lavel Davis Jr., a wide receiver, and Virginia native Devin Chandler, a wide receiver. The men were reportedly on a charter bus as it returned from a class field trip when they were killed. Another wounded student was announced to be in critical condition, while the other was reported to be in good condition.
“I know my son was calling for help,” Sean wrote in a now-deleted tweet. “I couldn’t help my son. I know he was calling somebody…God has the ultimate last word. D’Sean rest easy my [son]. Your journey here has been nothing [but] amazing son. We always knew you were special & God lend you to us. You definitely finished what you started out to do.”
The accused gunman, Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., has since been arrested and charged with three counts of second-degree murder and three counts of using a handgun in the alleged commission of a felon. He’s also been denied bond.
