Patriots team plane flies UVA football players to teammates' funerals
Image of New England Patriots team plane and three UVA football players D'Sean Perry (l) Lavel Davis Jr. (c) Devin Chandler (r). (Patriots plane photo-Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) (UVA football players photos courtesy of the University of Virginia)
The New England Patriots were off this weekend following their Thanksgiving Day game, but this didn’t stop them from putting their plane to use for an act of kindness.
The team provided their plane to fly University of Virginia football players and staff to attend the funerals of three UVA players killed in a campus shooting, NBC Boston reported Sunday.
RELATED: UVA community honors football players killed during on-campus shooting
On Nov. 13, Lavel Davis Jr., Devin Chandler, and D’Sean Perry were fatally shot after a field trip to see a play in Washington, D.C. Two other students were wounded, including another football player, Mike Hollins, according to the Associated Press.
Hollins and second-year student Marlee Morgan were released from the hospital, according to NBC Sports Boston.
D'Sean Perry (l) Lavel Davis Jr. (c) Devin Chandler (r). (Photo courtesy of the University of Virginia)
Authorities said Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., a UVA student and former member of the football team who was on the trip, began shooting at students on the bus as it pulled to a stop at a campus parking garage. The AP reported Jones faces three counts of second-degree murder and other charges.
RELATED: UVA community honors football players killed during on-campus shooting
The Patriots arranged for the team plane to fly the UVA team to all three out-of-state funerals. NBC Sports Boston noted that Chandler was from Huntersville, North Carolina, Davis was from Dorchester, South Carolina, and Perry was a native of Miami, Florida.
Patriots owner Robert Kraft and his family have routinely used the team plane to help others. In 2021, the plane was used to fly dozens of healthcare workers to the Super Bowl, to transport U.S. troops from Africa, and to deliver medical supplies to Haiti, according to NBC Sports Boston.
The Pats were off Sunday after playing a Thanksgiving night game against the Minnesota Vikings.
RELATED: UVA Shooting: Prosecutors say accused gunman Christopher Darnell Jones Jr. targeted victims
UVA held a memorial service for the slain football players on Nov. 19 in Charlottesville, Virginia. The AP reported that the team announced the cancelation of their game on Nov. 21 against rival Virginia Tech.
The Cavaliers also canceled their Nov. 19 game versus Coastal Carolina, which would have been their final home game of the season, WVEC-TV in Virginia reported.
The Associated Press contributed to this story. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.