CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — The parents of a University of Virginia student-athlete killed in an on-campus shooting in November spoke publicly Thursday for the first time since losing their 22-year-old son, calling for change and asking the community for support.
In a news conference from Coral Gables, Florida, Happy and Sean Perry were joined by their friend and civil attorney, Michael Haggard to discuss their son, D'Sean Perry, and what they hope will be his legacy. The junior linebacker was shot to death, alongside his teammates Devin Chandler and Lavel Davis, Jr. after returning from a class fieldtrip to D.C.; a fourth teammate survived the attack.
"'I'm here to stand in the gap for my son," Happy Perry said, fighting back tears.
In his opening speech, Haggard highlighted that 10 years had passed since the tragedy at the Sandy Hook Elementary school, yet gun violence still continues to be a problem in America, he said.
"In the present day, over 25,000 children in the United States of America have died since Sandy Hook," Haggard said. "The United States of America has done nothing about it. We made no progress on gun violence. The United States of America now has more guns than people."
After their son's death, Happy and Sean Perry were involuntarily brought to the gun violence movement, Haggard said. The grieving parents said D'Sean was gunned down on the same day he was on a class field trip to D.C. to see a play about Emmett Till for extra credit; he had gone to church with his teammates that morning.
"My son was a loving and caring young man," Happy Perry said. "He loved his family, he loved his teammates. And this is heartbreaking right now. I will like to advocate on his behalf."
The Perrys are asking the community to take a stand on mental health and gun violence.
"What's unique about this incredible family is they recognize the assailant who took their sons life had problems, but he didn't get the help he needed," Haggard said.
Fellow student and former teammate Christopher Darnell Jones Jr. faces three charges of second-degree murder. WUSA9 has learned Jones purchased his gun after two failed attempts, and a12-month suspended jail sentence on a concealed weapons charge. Haggard argued the university failed to protect their students on the bus that fateful day.
"He had multiple guns in his student housing apartment so the threat assessment was not done properly," Haggard said. "They could have removed him from campus well before this incident."
Happy and Sean Perry said they want to become advocates now, so no other family will ever have to go through what they're going through again.
"I'm asking that the football world and social media outlets take a stand and join us in this fight," Happy Perry said. "There are thousands of voices out there."
For now, the family is merely looking to navigate through their grief at the holidays.
"We were trying to put up the Christmas tree to bring a little hope in the house, Happy Perry said. "D'Sean was 6'5, so he was always our tree topper -- we would wait until he comes home, because he was playing football, to put the tree topper on. That was a moment for me, because I couldn't grasp that he's not here."
D'Sean's parents said they hope their son's legacy includes more than his football career. While the sport was a huge part of his life, as he was able to channel much of his childhood energy into football, D'Sean was more than a student-athlete, Happy and Sean said. The junior had a passion for politics and religion. He loved his community and spent most of his free time giving back, the family said.
This Christmas, D'Sean had a goal of hosting a holiday bicycle drive, according to his parents. To honor his name and legacy, the Perry family will take over and organize the event in his absence.
"It's been very difficult," Sean Perry said. "We have to walk by his room, and we had to clean up his apartment. Everything in the room is locked, but we still have to walk past it every day. We just... miss him."
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