Perry Family holds news conference honoring the life of D’Sean Perry

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - On December 15, the Perry family and Haggard Law Firm held a news conference honoring the life of D’Sean Perry. This is one of the few times the Perry family has opened up to the public since the deadly shooting on UVA Grounds.

D’Sean’s parents, Happy and Sean Perry, say D’Sean was a fun, loving young man who did everything right. Those at the press conference stated D’Sean was an example of the American dream. This suddenly turned into a nightmare.

“D’Sean loves his community and everything that he did,” Mrs. Perry said.

His parents say he was much more than just a linebacker and defensive end on UVA’s football team.

“You wouldn’t even know that he was a football player, because once he gets off, he’s just a regular old kid. He was talking about more politics, he would talk about religion, he would talk about anything other than football. So, we’re very, very proud of who we became as a young man, as a leader,” Mr. Perry said.

Alongside the Perry family was Michael Haggard, their family friend and lawyer.

“The University of Virginia gave D’Sean his opportunity, but they made a mistake,” Haggard said. “One thing that they want the University of Virginia to cooperate with is not only acknowledging what happened here, but to be a leader for our colleges and universities who all have this problem going on, every single one.”

Haggard and the Perrys say that UVA should have seen the red flags with the suspected shooter, Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., who was a student as well. They say the problem is gun control and are asking the football and university community to advocate against gun violence.

“We are exploring, looking at, the University of Virginia’s responsibility here. Unfortunately, as you all know, due to federal preemption, right now, we’re limited in what we can do with a gun manufacturer, or even this gun seller,” Haggard said.

The Perrys say they want to take action to prevent anything like this from happening again.

“It was my child this time, next time it could be yours,” Mrs. Perry said.

They are hoping to learn more about the investigation from the special council that was appointed, soon.

Watch the full conference below:

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