Bryan Silva Linked to UVA Shooting After Charlottesville Rapper’s Threats

Police dealing with the University of Virginia shooting mentioned Charlottesville-based rapper Bryan Silva in relation to the incident following several “concerning” posts on social media, according to reports.

At around 10:40 p.m. on Sunday night a shooting was reported on Culbreth Road. While Silva was initially suspected, the UVA police department’s social media accounts confirmed they were looking for former student athlete Christopher Darnell Jones regarding the incident, which occurred on the grounds of the University of Virginia.

Although there was confirmation from police sources that they are looking for Jones, Silva was mentioned by many on social media who believed he was involved.

On Sunday, Silva posted several images of guns and bullets, as well as a post saying he wants “pain and suffering” for UVA.

Bryan Silva (pictured inset left and center) was initially linked to a shooting incident at the University of Virginia (pictured) after he shared a “concerning” message on social media, according to reports. The shooting happened on the night of November 13. Zach Gibson/Getty Images / Facebook @BryanSilva

“I want u v a to know what pain and suffering is. They put me through that everyday of my life here and laughed in my face. I want them to feel how I feel. I will sell everything I have to make that pain and suffering happen,” Silva wrote on Facebook hours before the shooting occurred. Within the comment section, someone tagged the Charlottesville police department and the University of Virginia police department.

Earlier that morning Silva also wrote: “I feel my time here in Charlottesville is no longer wanted.”

Social media users claim both Jones’s and Silva’s names had been mentioned on the police scanner in relation to the shooting.

Twitter user @uwu_ken was one of the first to link Silva’s social media activity with the shooting, sharing screenshots of the rapper’s recent posts.

“People have found incredibly concerning messages on all of his social media. However, they’re looking for Christopher Darnell Jones, who is a former UVA football player,” @jinqks wrote, attempting to clarify the situation.

“If Bryan Silva wasn’t involved at all in this with the shooter that UVA police are after, he sure did pick a random, odd day to threaten to shoot up UVA,” @ladykirawriting wrote on Twitter. “Makes me wonder if they’re connected in any way, or if it really is just a coincidence.”

None of Silva’s posts explicitly mentioned he’d shoot anywhere or anyone, but he did post several images of bullets and guns.

Silva is an internet personality, rapper and OnlyFans model who gained internet notoriety in the 2010’s for his videos. He even appeared on an episode of comedy show Tosh.0 with Daniel Tosh, in which he discussed his trouble with the law and his catchphrase “Gratata.”

Newsweek has attempted to contact Silva, and spoke to the University of Virginia Police Department, which confirmed it has nothing to add to official statements.