Who is Bryan Silva? Charlottesville rapper's connection to University of Virginia shooting creates confusion online

Charlottesville rapper Bryan Silva was linked to a shooting at the University of Virginia that took place on Sunday night, i.e., November 13, 2022. Police claimed that several "concerning" social media posts led them to suspect Silva.

The investigation was later shifted to former student-athlete Christopher Darnell Jones. This did not completely remove Silva from the scene, and online speculation about his alleged involvement in the shooting on university grounds continued.

Bryan Silva's posts on Facebook, hours before the shooting, led many to believe that he was behind the incident. According to reports, Silva posted multiple pictures of himself holding a gun and wrote:

"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."

His posts raised concerns, and it did not take long for the netizens to connect them to the shooting. People tagged both the Charlottesville Police Department and the University of Virginia Police Department in response to Bryan Silva's troubling post. A user named Lisa Carol Turner tagged both police departments and wrote:

"I don’t care if he is not the shooter tonight. He will be."

Twitter user uwu_ken was one of the first people to draw the connection and posted a number of screenshots from Silva's social media.

The Charlottesville Police Department did arrest Bryan Silva, but it had nothing to do with the shooting at the University of Virginia. After his social media posts were brought to the attention of authorities, Silva was charged with possession of a controlled substance and possession or transportation of firearms, firearms ammunition, stun weapons, explosives, or concealed weapons by convicted felons.

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Bryan Silva deemed innocent in Virginia shooting but has a long criminal history

Just hours before the shooting at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville rapper and felon Bryan Silva went on a social media rant about targeted violence. While he was reported to police, they confirmed that he was not involved in the tragic shooting that killed three UVA football players.

A police spokesperson told Newsweek:

"During the course of [Sunday's] tragic events, the University of Virginia Police Department and the UVA threat assessment team were alerted to threatening social media posts made by Mr. Bryan Silva. The university has no reason to believe that Mr. Silva's posts are associated with yesterday's tragedy."

They added:

"At this time, CPD does not believe Mr. Silva's threats were related to the tragic events that occurred last night at the University of Virginia. However, we understand the fear this caused in our community and acted swiftly to resolve this investigation."

Silva, a rapper with a sizable fan base, is no stranger to running into trouble with the law. In 2018, he appeared in court on a domestic violence charge. In the incident, which occurred during a family Thanksgiving dinner, he and his then-wife Melissa Barney were both charged with disorderly conduct.

Bryan Silva was sentenced to more than a year in prison in Virginia in October 2016 after an armed standoff with Charlottesville police. Silva was also sentenced to three years in prison at the age of 13 for assaulting a school principal and breaking into his home.

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Silva was arrested and charged with possession or transportation of firearms, among other things, despite the fact that he was unrelated to the UVA shooting.