The New England Patriots have paid tribute to all those affected by the tragic shooting that took place at the University of Virginia, by allowing students and college players to use their team plane.
Three college football players from the University of Virginia were killed following a shooting on November 13, with two others hospitalised. Receivers Devin Chandler and Lavel Davis and linebacker D’Sean Perry were killed in the incident, with the alleged shooter Christopher Darnell Jones Jr, a former UVA college football player.
The Patriots lost to the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday night, and won't be in action until December 2 when they face the Buffalo Bills on home soil. And with their plane not in use this week, they've allowed it to be used as a method of transport for those attending funerals for the trio from UVA.
The Patriots have allowed their plane to be used by staff, players and students so that they can all attend funerals for Chandler, Davis and Perry. The plane first took passengers to Perry's funeral in Miami on Saturday, and flew back to Virginia for Chandler's funeral the day after.
The final funeral is taking place in South Carolina on Wednesday, in a hectic and emotional few days for the university, and all those close to the three stars. Virginia University have been mourning the loss of the three football stars for two weeks, but can finally pay their respects.
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.
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.
