Mike Hollins' mother recounts the Virginia RB's heroic efforts during deadly shooting

More detailed recounts are emerging from the tragic shooting at the University of Virginia that saw three football players lose their lives, while two other victims were sent to the hospital with critical injuries.

Mike Hollins, a UVA running back, was one of the two students injured in the shooting. Former Virginia football walk-on Christopher Darnell Jones Jr. shot him in the back and had to have two emergency surgeries in the days following the tragedy.

Now, his side of the story is finally being told, straight from the mouth of his mother, Brenda Hollins. As it turns out, Hollins is a hero.

Hollins and two other students made it off the bus as the shots rang out. When he saw it was just the three of them and not the whole class, Hollins’ instincts told him to return to the bus.

“He said, ‘Mom, I went back [to help his classmates],” Brenda Hollins said, via ESPN. “I needed to do something. I was going to beat on the windows because no one else was coming off the bus.’ He said, ‘I was going to beat on the windows. I was going to go on the bus and tell them to come on, get off.'”

Hollins didn’t get two steps inside the bus before Jones pointed to gun at him and fired.

“The only thing he remembers is he tried to turn, but he saw him lift the gun,” Brenda said. “He felt his back get hot and he ran.”

According to his mother, Hollins ran to a nearby parking garage, where he noticed the severity of his wound and waited until medical personnel could arrive. He was worried if he went too far into the garage no one would find him, but was worried about taking cover.

It’s too late to speculate what would have happened if Hollins never turned around after initially escaping the bus. Still, his mom expected nothing less from her son.

“Didn’t surprise me,” Brenda said. “It would surprise me if he didn’t. That’s who Mike is, so it didn’t surprise me.”

In the end, three Virginia football players, Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr. and D’Sean Perry, were all killed in the shooting. Marlee Morgan, the other student who was shot that was also treated for injuries is believed to be in good condition as of this writing.

Virginia has cancelled its football game this Saturday against Coastal Carolina as the team, athletic department, and campus community continues to mourn the losses of the three beloved athletes.