Mike Hollins, a running back for UVA, claims he doesn’t know why the shooter shot him and three other football players last month. He added this week that the shooter was silent throughout his killing spree and had appeared “normal” earlier in the day.
On “Good Morning America,” Hollins sat down with Michael Strahan and discussed how the ex-NFL player was able to survive the terrifying Nov. 13 tragedy. He also provided some insight into the shooter’s mindset.
Hollins claimed he first heard the gunshots while on the bus returning to UVA’s campus after a class field trip, and he quickly exited the vehicle unharmed.
He claimed, however, that he ran back inside when he realized no one was pursuing him and that’s when he allegedly locked eyes with alleged shooter Christopher Darnell Jones Jr.
“It was just a cold look,” Hollins said, adding that the man said “nothing at all” to him. “It was, I don’t know, it was just like a numb look.”
Hollins claimed that as soon as he turned to re-run, he was shot in the back.
The football player claimed to know nothing about Jones Jr., a former walk-on for the UVA football team and added that earlier in the day, Jones Jr. had not shown any signs of being upset.
“I had seen him that morning before we got on the bus,” Hollins said. “He was looking normal to me.”
Hollins was shot multiple times, sustaining severe wounds that required multiple surgeries to repair. He admitted to Strahan that he didn’t find out about the deaths of his teammates, D’Sean Perry, Lavel Davis, and Devin Chandler, until two days after the incident, when he was recovering from his initial surgery.
He said, “I’ve never cried like that before.”
Hollins is anticipated to recover fully.
Meanwhile, six criminal charges, including three counts of second-degree murder, have been brought against Jones Jr. In March, he will appear in court for a new hearing on the matter.
