Just three months into 2023, and the amount of gun violence in Charlottesville has already surpassed that of previous years. The University of Virginia held a panel on Tuesday, March 28, to address the concerns of students, parents, faculty, and community members. University President Jim Ryan, University Police Department Chief Tim Longo, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer JJ Davis, and Vice President for Student Affairs and the Chief Student Affairs Officer Robin Hadley fielded questions from the nearly 800 attendees.
Longo, who served as chief of the Charlottesville Police Department from 2001 to 2016, said no more than five homicides occurred annually in his near-16-year stint with the CPD. “They’ve had five just in the first three months of this year,” he said.
Optimistically, Longo pointed to the arrests that have been made for all five murders, and said suspects are awaiting criminal prosecution.
The March 18 Elliewood Avenue homicide is the most recent firearm-related incident. The victim and perpetrator had an altercation at The Biltmore that made its way onto the street, and ended in the shooting of 26-year-old Cody Brian Smith. “That particular night there were some seven university police officers in the area. Some six city police officers in the area, and countless university ambassadors,” Ryan said. “Nonetheless, it happened.” The UVA alert system quickly informed community members of a campus-wide shelter in place. The suspect was arrested the following day.
In light of increasing violence, UVA is building on its already-complex security system. The Community Oriented Policing Squad—a task force established in October 2021 to work off Grounds—is expanding. “I will be adding an additional member to that squad sometime next month,” said Longo. “And I will be placing a police lieutenant over that squad. So they have a command oversight. And by the beginning of next school year we’ll be expanding the number of those officers that are part of that squad as well.”
In addition, Longo said he will hire more ambassadors for the UVA ambassadors program. “We are also expanding the footprint of those ambassadors just south of the university’s Medical Center in an area adjacent to Cherry Avenue, where another homicide occurred in the city just a couple of weekends ago,” he said. Established in 2015 after the disappearance of Hannah Graham, the program provides “personal safety escorts and makes requests for medical and police assistance on behalf of our [UVA] community members.”
Administering precautions would be impossible without technology. Nearly 2,000 cameras are nestled throughout Grounds, and that number “is growing almost daily, because of the number of buildings that are being constructed here on Grounds and the number of buildings that we’re acquiring off Grounds,” Longo said.
Social media platforms like Yik Yak, Twitter, and Instagram, where kids are free to speak their minds, foreshadow a lot of criminal activity on Grounds. UVA police have adapted to this new digital era, and check these sites regularly.
While widespread and complex, the efficacy of UVA’s safety measures relies on students. “We would just like to underline continuing to be cognizant about our surroundings,” Ryan said. “I happen to live on Grounds and, likewise, I’m cognizant about my surroundings. I live just up the hill from where the shooting occurred last weekend. And so, I use a buddy system. I’ll let folks know when I’m moving around or going somewhere.”
“I am telling you, impressing upon you, how incredibly sensitive I am to belief in that responsibility,” Ryan added. “And how seriously we take that responsibility.”
In brief
Rent relief
City residents in need of rental assistance can apply to Charlottesville’s housing voucher program waitlist on portal.cvillerha.com until April 7 at 4pm. Albemarle County’s waitlist applications will open on housing portal.albemarle.org on April 6 at 10am, and close April 13 at 4pm.
New management
Longtime Ting Pavilion General Manager Kirby Hutto will retire next month, after running the downtown venue since ground was broken on it in 2004. Jefferson Theater business manager Jonathan Drolshagen, who also manages restaurants Mas and Ten, will take over for Hutto, who will serve in a consulting role through the end of the year.
AHS student charged
An Albemarle High School student has been charged with a criminal offense after administrators found a knife in the student’s possession on March 28, according to The Daily Progress. The unnamed student also allegedly vandalized a door in the school’s performance art wing with racist, antisemitic, and homophobic graffiti sometime between March 25 and 27.
School board bid
Reclaimed Hope Initiative board member Allison Spillman is vying for the at-large seat on the Albemarle County School Board, and will face off against University of Virginia psychology professor Meg Bryce in November. Current at-large member Jonno Alcaro is not running for re-election.
Human remains found
On March 30, Albemarle County police found human remains at a campsite in a wooded area outside of Agnor Hurt Elementary School. Authorities are in the process of identifying the deceased person, but shared that the person had not died recently.
Bottoms up
Good news, beer lovers—Devil’s Backbone is coming to Charlottesville. In May, the award-winning Nelson County brewery will open Devil’s Backbone Backyard at 1000 W Main Street, the former home of Skipping Rock Beer Company. The new location will serve a limited food menu, the brand’s canned Smash cocktails, and a variety of beers brewed on-site.
Person stabbed
On March 28, the Charlottesville Police Department responded to a report of a stabbing on 12th Street NW between Rosser and Preston avenues at around 5:45pm. Officers found a victim with multiple lacerations, who was taken to the hospital. A suspect was arrested on the scene, reports CBS19.
