BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — One year later, families and students reflect on the Univesity of Virginia’s mass shooting that took the lives of three student-athletes and injured two others.

Two of the victim’s mothers spoke out about the shooting and how they are still impacted by the tragic event.

Those two mothers were Brenda Hollins, a Baton Rouge Native, who is the mother of Michale Hollins Jr. who survived the shooting. Hollins was hospitalized for multiple gunshot wounds, including one on his back.

Hollins continues to play football for the University of Virginia, after extensive recovery.

The mother of D’Sean Perry, Happy Perry, thanks those in the Charlottesville community for holding multiple events, gun violence seminars, and a moment of silence for her son.

“You know people keep saying anniversary date,” said Perry. “It’s not for me, it’s a day of remembrance.”

Both mothers discussed their son’s “inseparable” relationship, and how this tragedy has caused them to have a ‘necessary’ bond to move forward in finding change.

“The time is now to start to fight,” said Perry. “If you have not gotten up to take a stand, the time is now we have to.”

Attorney Michael Haggard represents both families and several Parkland shooting families.

Statistics show there have been 71 school shootings this year alone, Hagger believes that the United States government needs to make changes.

“This is a uniquely awful American problem, It doesn’t happen anywhere in the world,” said Hagger. “Something has to change at the macro level, and that means our government has to wake up and protect us.”

Former UVA football player, Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., has a list of updated charges below:

  • One indictment each for killing Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis, and D’Sean Perry charges the “willful deliberate, and premeditated killing of more than one person as a part of the same act or transaction.
  • One indictment each for the killing of the three men (listed above) charges the “willful deliberate, and premeditated killing of more than one person within three years
  • One indictment for aggravated malicious wounding of Michael Hollins Jr.
  • One Indictment for aggravated malicious wounding of Marlee Morgan (second student injured) Five felony indictments for the unlawful use or display of a firearm in committing a felony.

Darnell Jones Jr.’s charges were updated last month and is facing a mandatory life sentence.