Shooting at Virginia Tech leaves 33 dead

The deadliest mass killing in U.S. history shook Virginia Tech University yesterday morning,… The deadliest mass killing in U.S. history shook Virginia Tech University yesterday morning, when an unnamed gunman opened fire in two buildings on the Blacksburg, Va., campus.

The shooting began at around 7:15 a.m. when the university police department received a 911 call reporting a disturbance in West Ambler Johnston Hall, a freshman dormitory with more than 800 residents, according to Virginia Tech President Charles W. Steger and university police Chief Wendell Flinchum at a press conference yesterday.

Reports of a shooting in Norris Hall, an engineering building across the campus from the first building, also reached the police about two hours after they began the initial investigation.

Thirty-three people, including the gunman, are now confirmed to be dead, and at least 15 are being treated at four nearby hospitals. Two of the victims, a man and a women, were found in the residence hall; the rest of the victims were inside various locations of the academic building.

“The university is shocked and horrified that this would befall our campus,” Steger said. “I want to extend my deepest, sincerest and most profound sympathies to the families of these victims, which include students.”

The gunman in Norris Hall, an Asian man in his 20s who may or may not be a Virginia Tech student, had allegedly chained the doors shut. Some students jumped out of windows to escape the massacre, according to Flinchum.

After police broke down the barricaded doors and entered Norris Hall, the gunman took his own life on the second floor. Police suspect two weapons were used in the shooting.

The shooter and the victims had not been identified as of last night, and the Virginia Tech police do not know if the same person acted in both locations.

The FBI and state police are also working on the investigation.

Virginia Tech student Morgan Nati, who lives off-campus, went to class at 10 a.m. yesterday, not knowing about the incident. She said she checked the University Web site and her e-mail account at 9 a.m., but saw nothing posted about the first shooting.

As she drove to her class in Litton-Reaves Hall, which is only a few doors down from Norris Hall, she passed numerous cop cars.

“I knew nothing about it and figured there was just an accident or something,” she said.

University officials said that they sent out 36,000 e-mails at 9:26 a.m. to warn students, faculty and staff of the incident. Virginia Tech has about 26,000 enrolled students, with about 9,000 living on-campus.

After responding to the first incident in West Ambler Johnston Hall, the university police locked down the building and secured the area.

“We made the best decision based on the information we had at the time,” Flinchum said.

Nati remained in her classroom, which went under lockdown at 10 a.m., until about noon.

“Everyone was pretty shocked, and some people were just inconvenienced. We couldn’t get out of the building,” she said.

She added that cell phone service was down for more than an hour. Most students in her class were trying to call their parents.

“I could imagine how those parents are trying to call their children, and I could imagine Pitt parents are trying to call their kids just to talk to them, to make sure they’re OK, to just hear their voice,” Pitt police chief Tim Delaney said.

“They have an emergency response department. Pitt has one also, a rapid deployment team which trains with the city of Pittsburgh for something like this,” Pitt police chief Tim Delaney said.

After securing areas in the event of an emergency involving a gunman, he said that Pitt police are trained to immediately enter the building, breaching doors with hammers or guns if necessary, and stop the shooter.

They would also use the fire alarm systems to announce the present dangers in school buildings.

Delaney said he used this plan of action to communicate to the Pitt students about a bomb threat in Scaife Hall a few weeks ago.

“We are prepared for disaster, and we practice for it, but there are no guarantees,” Delaney said. “People shouldn’t be shocked, it can happen anywhere.”

In response to the tragedy, Pitt Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg said, “The circumstance of violence makes this a tragedy that impacts both the individuals affected and all of society.”

“We offer our heartfelt condolences to the friends and families of the victims and stand ready to be of assistance to members of the Virginia Tech community in any way they would find helpful.”

President George W. Bush also expressed his sympathies, and the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate held moments of silence for the victims yesterday.

“Schools should be places of safety, sanctuary and learning. When that sanctuary is violated, the impact is felt in every American classroom in every American community,” Bush said.

Students across the nation, unable to contact their friends in Blacksburg, have responded to the tragedy via Facebook.com.

Nati had numerous postings on her wall forum on her account’s page from friends checking to see if she was OK.

One group on the Web site, now numbering more than 10,000 members, shows a wall filled with students from all over the world expressing their condolences to the campus community.

Virginia Tech closed for the majority of yesterday, and all classes were cancelled. No classes will be held today, as the campus community will have the opportunity to grieve at a convocation scheduled for 2 p.m.

The university received a bomb threat last Friday, and closed classes that day as well. Police still are unsure whether the two incidents are related.

“I think we have to think very carefully about the process of healing and bringing this community back together. It’s going to be a long difficult road for people,” Steger said.

Read The Pitt News later in the week for more updates on the shootings and for an in-depth look at campus safety at Pitt.