‘Keep on working’: Slain UVA football player D’Sean Perry's father shares heartbreaking final texts to son
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VIRGINIA: Father of University of Virginia football player D'Sean Perry, shared a screenshot of the final text he sent to his son before he got killed in the UVA mass shooting on November 13, Sunday. Perry had his last conversation with his father through a text message after the Virginia Cavaliers' 37-7 defeat against the Pittsburgh Panthers on Saturday shortly before 9 pm, where he asked his father if he had watched the game, to which Sean Perry responded "Keep on working," as per CBS news.
The shooting reportedly took place at around 10:30 pm at a garage on Culbreth Road, on the university's Charlottesville campus claimed the life of three footballers. Those killed were identified as D'Sean Perry, a fourth-year student from Miami, Florida, Lavel Davis Jr, a third-year student from Rich Hill, South Carolina, and Devin Chandler, a second-year student from Virginia Beach.
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Perry's father shared the screenshot of the text via Twitter but deleted it right after posting, "My last text to my son. Saturday Pitt Game. Last text was Sunday night no answer." "Everything good sir? Just checking up," Perry's father texted him after the game. "Yea, you watched the game today?" the UVA junior responded.
Perry's father texted him the following day at around six o'clock by sharing a clip from the fourth quarter of the game on Saturday, along with final words of advice for his son, "Keep on working." Later that night at 11:17 pm, the father texted once again, "Yo good up there?" which was never answered.
When police were called to a report of a UVA shooting at around 10:30 pm, Perry was on a bus "full of students" close to the college campus parking garage. Along with his teammates Devin Chandler and Lavel Davis Jr, D'Sean Perry also lost his life in the incident and two others were injured. The suspect was detained right after.
"I know my son was calling for help," Perry's father tweeted on Tuesday. "I couldn't help my son. I know he was calling somebody." "God has the ultimate last word. D'Sean rest easy my [son]. Your journey here has been nothing [but] amazing son. We always knew you were special & God lend you to us. You definitely finished what you started out to do," he also tweeted.
The family has released an official statement through their attorney, Michael Haggard. "On behalf of D'Sean's parents, Happy and Sean Perry, and their entire family, we thank the South Florida and Charlottesville communities for the outpouring of support during this impossibly tragic time, Right now, Happy and Sean will not speak publicly about the incident as their grief is only the beginning."
According to the information provided by his school, D'Sean Perry, a Miami native who attended Gulliver Preparatory Academy, played for UVA in six games this season and recorded a career-high four tackles in September's game against Old Dominion. He was chosen as the South Florida Conference's 2018 Defensive Player of the Year in his high school. On the game's final play in 2020, he returned an interception 84 yards for a touchdown and it is the second-longest return by a linebacker in program history.