CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – It’s been a month since D’Sean Perry, Devin Chandler, and Lavel Davis Jr. lost their lives at the University of Virginia.
On Thursday, through their heartache and grief, D’Sean’s parents spoke publicly for the first time since their son’s death.
“I believe that my son is in a very good place right now, and that’s why I’m standing here,” said his father, Sean Perry.
His mom described him as a caring man who loved his family and teammates. She said he was the life of the party and the prankster of the family.
[WATCH: Parents of UVA linebacker D’Sean Perry speak out publicly for the first time]
“He’s good for hiding in the garage with a Halloween mask on. He’ll just sit there and wait for an hour just to get his joke off,” said his mother, Happy Perry.
D’Sean was a competitor, but his dad said that he was more than a football player and rarely talked about it off the field.
“He would talk about politics, he would talk about religion, he would talk about anything other than football. So we were very proud of who he became as a young man,” Sean said.
Their focus now is on being an advocate for changes in gun violence laws and mental health awareness in the wake of their son’s murder.
“The red flags were there and this young man was still able to purchase a firearm,” Happy explained.
They vowed to be his voice while cherishing his memory.