The mother of college football star Mike Hollins has detailed the moment she had to tell the young running back that three of his team-mates had died in a tragic shooting incident.
Three college football players from the University of Virginia were killed following a shooting on Sunday, with two others hospitalised - one of whom was Hollins. Receivers Devin Chandler and Lavel Davis and linebacker D’Sean Perry were killed in the incident, close team-mates of Hollins.
The alleged shooter that has been taken into custody is Christopher Darnell Jones Jr, a former member of the UVA college football player. Hollins was rushed to hospital in a serious condition but thankfully is now stable after being wounded in the incident, but his mother had to break the awful news that his team-mates weren't as lucky.
"As soon as he walked in, that was his question. 'Where's DeShaun?' The room went silent," Hollins' mother, Brenda, told ESPN. "So he know, and my daughter, she was standing closest to him and he turned to her.
"She shook her head and said 'He's gone'. Mike's cry, it was so deep like it was coming from his soul. It was like a cry I'd never heard before in my life.
"There was nothing I could do. I can't grab him and hug him to me because he's hurt, so I can't move him. So it felt like in that moment he was alone. We were there, but he was alone. He told me 'Mum, I don't know how I'm going to live without them'. So I said 'Mike, you're going to live for them'."
The shooting occurred as a bus full of students returned to UVA from a field trip to Washington. The students were returning from a field trip to see a play in Washington, D.C, according to university president Jim Ryan.
There is still no clear reason on the motive behind the shooting, but unfortunately multiple talented individuals have lost their life as a result. The alleged shooter was listed as a player for the college side in 2018, but the university website stated he didn't play any games.
The three that died were all promising youngsters, with Davis making 16 catches for 371 yards and scoring two touchdowns this season. He had just recovered from a knee injury that required surgery.
Perry had five tackles in three games this season, and was developing well as a junior defensive end/linebacker. Chandler had not appeared in a game this season, but did catch two passes for 28 yards as a freshman in 2020.
