Tragedy at VA-Tech

[HLJ]

Just got word and watching on the tube 22 people killed on the campus of Virginia Tech University 28 wounded.A very close friend of mine has a son a Tech but he was at his apartment and is ok Thank God!Peace and all that.

[Enforcer]

Yeah, this is terrible. I haven't heard any details yet.

[Squaredancecalling Steve]

Worst school shooting ever. Two episodes, hours apart, in different parts of the campus. Horrendous.

[Scott Dolan]

Jesus..........

[Jimmy Cantiello]

USA TODAY

[Enforcer]

At least the shooter is dead. What a brutal tragedy.

[Sandi22]

And everyone tells me how dangerous it is to move south of our border.

[Coda]

Oh God, not again.

What a horrible thing for the families of the victims to have to go through. You send your child off to college, with such promise... only to have some jerk flippantly take their life.

Sickening...

My prayers go out for the injured and the families that have lost their loved ones.

God please send them comfort.

[Noj]

Too horrible for words.

[BFrank]

Not to take anything away from this tragedy, but this (and worse) is a daily occurence in Iraq/Afghanistan.

[Ron Thorne]

Their school year began with tragedy when a policeman and unarmed security guard were killed nearby and the shooter was arrested near campus, and now this . . .

Unspeakable.




Virginia Tech Shooting Kills at Least 22



Alan Kim, The Roanoke Times via Associated Press
Emergency responders today carrying the injured out of Norris Hall at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va.

By CHRISTINE HAUSER and ANAHAD O’CONNOR
Published: April 16, 2007


At least 22 people were killed today, some of them students, and more were injured during shootings at Virginia Tech, some of them in a classroom on the campus, the police said. A gunman was also shot to death, officials said at a news conference.
Skip to next paragraph



The attack was the deadliest campus shooting in American history.

“Today the university was struck with a tragedy that we consider of monumental proportions,” said the university’s president, Charles Steger.

There were two shootings on the campus in Blacksburg, Va., and in each case fatalities with “multiple shooting victims,” he said.

A police official there, Wendell Flinchum, said there were “at least 20 fatalities,” and that some of the victims were shot in the classroom. News of the number of the fatalities sent up an audible gasp in the news conference, said one television reporter in the broadcast.

The shooting was partially captured on a student’s cellphone video camera showing grainy black figures on the street outside of campus buildings. Popping sounds from the gunfire were audible.

“This place is in a state of panic,” said a student who was interviewed on CNN, Shaver Deyerle. “Nobody knew what was going on at first.”

He said that the shooting reminded him of the 1999 Columbine High School killings, in which two teenaged students killed 12 students and a teacher before killing themselves. At least 23 students were wounded.

Today’s shooting at Virginia Tech comes in the same week, eight years ago, as the April 20 shooting at Columbine.

The police were slowly evacuating students from campus buildings and all classes have been canceled.

Families were told to reunite with students at the Inn at Virginia Tech, a facility of conference space and hotel rooms. The university community was told to assemble on Tuesday at the Cassell Coliseum to start to deal with the tragedy, a campus statement said.

The university has more than 25,000 full-time students on a campus that is spread out over 2,600 acres.

President Bush was “horrified” at the news of the shooting, and expressed deep concern for the families of the victims, said Dana Perino, a White House spokeswoman.

A few details emerged from the news conference. At 7:15 a.m., an emergency 911 call came in to University police department about a shooting at a campus building, West Ambler Johnston, a dormitory for about 900 freshman students. About three hours later it was followed by a second shooting at a classroom in a science and engineering building on the opposite end of campus, Norris Hall. The shooter died there, the police said.
“It didn’t stop for almost two or three minutes,” a junior from Fairfax named Josh told CNN. “It sounded like a handgun or something but it was many, many shots.”

While there were no confirmed details about the identity of the gunman, reports from one person said to be a witness was posted on the MSNBC Web site, describing the assailant as wearing a black leather jacket and wielding two 9 millimeter handguns. He used one to kill himself, the witness said.

According to a spokesperson at one local hospital, at least 17 Virginia Tech students were being treated for gunshot wounds, the Associated Press reported. Sharon Honaker, a spokeswoman for Montgomery Regional Hospital told CNN that four students — one critical and three in stable condition — were being treated for wounds.

Images on CNN showed police with assault rifles swarming several buildings, sirens blaring in the background and a voice over a loudspeaker warning people across the campus to take cover in buildings and stay away from windows. Many students could be seen crouching on floors in classrooms and dormitories.

Outside, police were evacuating students and faculty, many of them to local hotels, and witnesses said that some students were seen scrambling out of windows to get to safety. A Montgomery County school official said that all schools throughout the county were being shut down.

The shooting was the second in the past year that forced officials to lock down the campus. In August of 2006, an escaped jail inmate shot and killed a deputy sheriff and an unarmed security guard at a nearby hospital before the police caught him in the woods near the university.

The capture ended a manhunt that led to the cancellation of the first day of classes at Virginia Tech and shut down most businesses and municipal buildings in Blacksburg. The accused gunman, William Morva, is facing capital murder charges.

NYT link

[Sandi22]

What is this inner turmoil that causes someone to take others lives? So senseless and cruel.

Twenty five people are said to be dead according to the last breaking news email that just came in. If this weren't tragic enough, they're saying that there are 20, and perhaps more who have been wounded.

Our hearts go out to those who are suffering from this latest act of violence; to the victims, their families and their friends. What a terrible tragedy.

[Al in NYC]

What a terrible and tragic event. I think a lot of people are going to be upset that they had a shooting at 7:15 and apparently allowed the day to go on as usual until the second, and much worse, shooting 2 to 3 hours later. Already I heard a student on CNN outraged that the University didn't even make the first shooting public until after 9:30. Strange things going on at VT -- apparently they had a number of bomb threats over the last few weeks too.

[Al in NYC]

It's getting worse. CNN says 31 dead now.

[Ron Thorne]

What a terrible and tragic event. I think a lot of people are going to be upset that they had a shooting at 7:15 and apparently allowed the day to go on as usual until the second, and much worse, shooting 2 to 3 hours later. .

Strange indeed, Al.

Now, as feared, CNN has reported that the death toll has climbed to 31.

So tragic and senseless.

[graypencil]

This is absolutely terrible ..

And no matter what the NRA lobby says, there is NO excuse for allowing ANY automatic ( or sem-autometic ) firearms to be sold in this country.

You don't need AK47s, Uzis, or Street Sweepers to hunt deer, or for home protection if you choose to go that route.

[Sandi22]

What in the world were they thinking, not alerting everyone they could get in touch with as to what was happening? Radio,& television stations, as well as calls to dorms, all class rooms, labs, and lecture halls. Road blocks to the campus should have been set up, and may have been, I wouldn't know, but if they weren't that was big mistake as well. If true and it seems to be, that they did nothing to try to inform those in danger, I would demand that resignations start being turned in immediately by those who didn't do all they could to inform the students, faculty, and other employes; resign or be fired. Easy to sit back and judge, but this looks like another case of total failure to use good judgment.

[GoodSpeak]

Has anyone heard of a motive yet?


This is horrible.

[jazzgirl]

a friend of ours granddaughter goes here, and she said the kids were jumping out of windows to get away from this psychopath, thats got to be worse than getting shot at, and to imagine how scared these kids were breaks my heart more than anything!

[Monte Smith]

I have a young cousin at Tech and understand he has reported in as OK, thank goodness. Phones going off all day.

This is retarded. What a squalid, stupid thing. There was a similar (but smaller) incident with an armed fugitive just this past August. Two cops killed, I think. Nuts.

[Dr Dave]

Guns don't kill people. Guns just help people kill other people quickly and efficiently.

Who wants to bet nothing will change as a result of this murderous episode, except possibly the hiring of security guards on campus to implement ineffective security procedures?

Americans love guns, and the NRA is there to make sure the romance continues unabated. I predict they will make a big deal out of the guy using handguns, and somehow turn the story into a defense of assault weapons.

[Scott Dolan]

This is absolutely terrible ..

And no matter what the NRA lobby says, there is NO excuse for allowing ANY automatic ( or sem-autometic ) firearms to be sold in this country.

You don't need AK47s, Uzis, or Street Sweepers to hunt deer, or for home protection if you choose to go that route.

Co8uld he have not done the same amount of damage with a bunch of handguns?

[Sandi22]

This is absolutely terrible ..

And no matter what the NRA lobby says, there is NO excuse for allowing ANY automatic ( or sem-autometic ) firearms to be sold in this country.

You don't need AK47s, Uzis, or Street Sweepers to hunt deer, or for home protection if you choose to go that route.

We were up in the foothills of the Ochaco's one day and there were gunshots going off, just a couple of high powered automatic rifle shots; a couple of bursts; which worried us, and then there was a sound like a cannon. I don't know what they had, but it wasn't any kind of gun I've ever heard, it sounded like I would imagine a bazooka would sound like. It was being shot off more than once. All of the shooting had us worried. We were hoping nothing would come our way from any of it. We had no clue as to what direction they were shooting from and at. Then we saw a pickup coming and so we kind of made ourselves scarce, not wanting to be a target, as we're forever having killings up in the mountains. Thrill killings of strangers has been known to happen here in the Pacific Northwest. A fellow we knew was killed up there. His body was found tied to a tree a long time after his disappearance. His killer was never found. Chances were the fellows shooting their weapons were no danger to us, but one never knows this day and age.

I agree, those types of weapons are only anti-human guns, and more criminals have them than do families protecting life and property. I wish there were a way to prevent them from being sold, but there isn't and if there were, the criminal element would still have them, they'd just buy smuggled ones, like they're already doing. They wouldn't be as readily available, but they'd still be able to get them.

[Dr Dave]

Co8uld he have not done the same amount of damage with a bunch of handguns?

Thank you, Scott!

[Scott Dolan]

Hey, I'm no gun nut. Don't pwn any, never will. I'm just asking.

[julieswi]

he did have handguns, 2 of them the ny times said.

[Scott Dolan]

What I'm asking is would banning assault rifles have prevented this tragedy?

I'm thinking no.

[Vince Kargatis]

Guns don't kill people.

I know, I know, it's totally the bullets! It's the anti-gun zealots that keep insisting otherwise.

[Gentle Giant]

Prayers to the whole community and all the families directly affected. And yes, such senseless murderous rampages do happen everywhere in the world with alarming frequency, in Iraq, Sudan, Palestine, Israel, and elsewhere. But it's no more tragic because it's rare or common. It's just senseless loss of life, dreams, and potential. We're all the poorer for it.

[Dan G]

Co8uld he have not done the same amount of damage with a bunch of handguns?

Yes, so make them illegal also.