OT Gunman kills 21 on Virginia Tech campus

[Twist Capper]

By SUE LINDSEY, Associated Press Writer
1 minute ago



BLACKSBURG, Va. - A gunman opened fire in a dorm and classroom at Virginia Tech on Monday, killing 21 people and wounding another 21 before he was killed, police said.

"Today the university was struck with a tragedy that we consider of monumental proportions," said university president Charles Steger. "The university is shocked and indeed horrified."

The university reported shootings at opposite sides of the 2,600-acre campus, beginning at about 7:15 a.m. at West Ambler Johnston, a co-ed residence hall that houses 895 people, and continuing about two hours later at Norris Hall, an engineering building.

One student was killed in a dorm and the others were killed in the classroom, Virginia Tech Police Chief W.R. Flinchum.

After the shootings, all entrances to the campus were closed and classes canceled through Tuesday.

"There's just a lot of commotion. It's hard to tell exactly what's going on," said Jason Anthony Smith, 19, who lives in the dorm where shooting took place.

Aimee Kanode, a freshman from Martinsville, said the shooting happened on the 4th floor of West Ambler Johnston dormitory, one floor above her room. Kanode's resident assistant knocked on her door about 8 a.m. to notify students to stay put.

"They had us under lockdown," Kanode said. "They temporarily lifted the lockdown, the gunman shot again."

"We're all locked in our dorms surfing the Internet trying to figure out what's going on," Kanode said.

Madison Van Duyne, a student who was interviewed by telephone on CNN, said, "We are all in lockdown. Most of the students are sitting on the floors away from the windows just trying to be as safe as possible."

It was second time in less than a year that the campus was closed because of a shooting.

In August 2006, the opening day of classes was canceled and the campus closed when an escaped jail inmate allegedly killed a hospital guard off campus and fled to the Tech area. A sheriff's deputy involved in the manhunt was killed on a trail just off campus.

The accused gunman, William Morva, faces capital murder charges

[hawkeye1]

now it's 22 dead, God be with them and their families.

[racer]

The story is a sad one but what can we expect from a culture that doesn't teach morals anymore.

In other news:
Beginning
A gunman opened fire in a dorm and classroom at Virginia Tech on Monday, killing 21 people and wounding another 21 before he was killed, police said.

The End
The accused gunman, William Morva, faces capital murder charges



What a waste of time and money

[TexasPride]

They are now reporting that 32 people have been killed, 21 are being treated, 4 in critical condition.

Just sickening... What has this world come to...

[Twist Capper]

EXCEPTS FROM AN UPDATE:


The gunman was killed, bringing to death toll to 22, but it was unclear if he was shot by police or took his own life.

The name of the gunman was not immediately released, and investigators offered no motive for the attack. It was not immediately known if the gunman was a student.

FBI spokesman Richard Kolko in Washington said there was no immediate evidence to suggest it was a terrorist attack, "but all avenues will be explored."

The shootings spread panic and confusion on campus, with witnesses reporting students jumping out the windows of a classroom building to escape the gunfire. SWAT team members with helmets, flak jackets and assault rifles swarmed over the campus. Students and faculty members carried out some of the wounded themselves, without waiting for ambulances to arrive.

Up until Monday, the deadliest campus shooting in U.S. history was a rampage that took place in 1966 at the University of Texas at Austin, where Charles Whitman climbed the clock tower and opened fire with a rifle from the 28th-floor observation deck. He killed 16 people before he was shot to death by police.

The massacre Monday took place almost eight years to the day after the Columbine High bloodbath near Littleton, Colo. On April 20, 1999, two teenagers killed 12 fellow students and a teacher before taking their own lives.

The deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history was in Killeen, Texas, in 1991, when George Hennard drove his pickup into a Luby's Cafeteria and shot 23 people to death, then himself.

Founded in 1872, Virginia Tech is nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of southwestern Virginia, about 160 miles west of Richmond. With more than 25,000 full-time students, it has the state's largest full-time student population. The school is best known for its engineering school and its powerhouse Hokies football team.

The rampage took place on a brisk spring day, with snow flurries swirling around the campus, which is centered around the Drill Field, a grassy field where military cadets — who now represent a fraction of the student body — once practiced. The dorm and the classroom building are on opposites sides of the Drill Field.

A gasp could be heard at a campus news conference when the police chief said at least 20 people had been killed. Previously, only one person was thought to have been killed.

Investigators from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives began marking and recovering the large number of shell casings and will trace the weapon used, authorities said.

A White House spokesman said President Bush was horrified by the rampage and offered his prayers to the victims and the people of Virginia.

"The president believes that there is a right for people to bear arms, but that all laws must be followed," spokeswoman Dana Perino said

After the shootings, all entrances to the campus were closed, and classes were canceled through Tuesday. The university set up a meeting place for families to reunite with their children. It also made counselors available and planned an assembly for Tuesday at the basketball arena.

After the shooting began, students were told to stay inside away from the windows.

Aimee Kanode, a freshman from Martinsville, said the shooting happened on the fourth floor of West Ambler Johnston dormitory, one floor above her room. Kanode's resident assistant knocked on her door about 8 a.m. to notify students to stay put.

"They had us under lockdown," Kanode said. "They temporarily lifted the lockdown, the gunman shot again."

"We're all locked in our dorms surfing the Internet trying to figure out what's going on," Kanode said.

Maurice Hiller, 21, a mechanical engineering student from Richmond, saw police and SWAT team members with guns drawn going toward Norris Hall. "This is something just totally beyond anybody's expectations," he said.

Police said there had been bomb threats on campus over the past two weeks by authorities but said they have not determined a link to the shootings.

[soonerlew]

My prayers for the victims and their families!!! How sad!!!!

[lizzo]

May God bless the victims and there families....

[only2percent]

"The president believes that there is a right for people to bear arms, but that all laws must be followed,"

Hope, it's not another "orchestrated" attack on our liberties and Constitution ...

[bawana]

I,am afraid our gun rights are going to be challenged again, I feel so sorry for all of the kids who's life's have been taken . I can't image the grief of all of their family's, and I pray for them in their time of sorrow and grief.

Sometimes when some thing like this happens, we wonder how God could allow this to happen, and I believe if we asked him he would say, I am no longer allowed in schools and public places. You pray to me after something happens, but you can't pray to me in school before.

[racer]

bawana said:

I,am afraid our gun rights are going to be challenged again, I feel so sorry for all of the kids who's life's have been taken . I can't image the grief of all of their family's, and I pray for them in their time of sorrow and grief.

Sometimes when some thing like this happens, we wonder how God could allow this to happen, and I believe if we asked him he would say, I am no longer allowed in schools and public places. You pray to me after something happens, but you can't pray to me in school before.

We need him back where he belongs


Another sad point that needs to be addressed is the ability of our younger generation to defend themselves. I could just imagine this whacked out gunman walking into a classroom of 20 COLLEGE KIDS and firing at will. These student probably all ducked behind there desks then got out there STUPID HELL PHONES and dialed 911

This really sucks because IF HE HAD A NORMAL RIFLE? They only carry 5 shots. This should mean that had plenty of time to take down this ONE guy.

[Deleted]

another tradgedy, and why , some one reported it was a love gone wrong , what is wrong with people who take others lifes when they are innocent , what a waste of good lifes , may god keep them , and bless them all who witnessed such a tramatic drama in life .sad day for america.

[bawana]

We need to wake up.
What do you expect.

We took God out of schools, the Ten comandents, Responsibilty for your own actions, They no longer teach values in school. We have to many LAWYERS, ( O.J. ) and our BLEEDING HEART ___ holes and Judges. Virgina is a CCW state but they can not bring them into school. The school voted on it, no guns in schools ( unless you do not obay the law) everyone who voted against it should be made to see the pictures of all the MURDERED CHILDREN, OVER AND OVER AGAIN. It may have stoped it, who knows. The USA is no longer Gomer Pile and Leave it to Beaver, there are people out there who want us dead! Forigen and Domestic, nuts and KOOKS. The Police, Border Patrol, any Law enforcement agent can't do a thing. Try calling 911!
Enough for now.

[golden1101]

Here is a blog written by a 15 year old . . .Pretty impressive for 15.

____________________________________________________

None of the 33 students who were killed at VT this morning thought this would be their last day on Earth. None of them knew that their life's work would come to an end today. These were all young adults, who had their whole lives still ahead of them, but that was all taken away today.
The first thing I thought when I heard about this was, "Damn, what if this happened at Bellarmine, or at a school my friends go to?". If I or you were shot and killed this morning, would we have lived our lives to the fullest? Hell, we're 15 and 16 years old, we have so much to do and so much to see. I know I haven't done everything I want to, and I hope to make a difference in the world by the time I leave it. All it takes though, is a crazy guy with a gun to end these hopes and dreams.
The kinds of people that do these shootings are people who loathe the world around them, who think the people they see everyday make this world a worse place to live in. These people get picked on, made fun of, and are outcasted by their peers. They eventually resent these people, and the results can be lethal. Next time you want to pick on someone, think about the fact you might be the straw on the camel's back, that you might be the person who pushes that someone over the edge.
None of us wake up in the morning and expect that we'll be shot and killed. All of us though, should wake up in the morning, and remember life only happens once, and it should be lived to the fullest. And as a whole, we should try to acheive a peaceful co-existance with eachother, where no one's happiness is sacrificed for someone else's. We all have one shot, one opportunity to live a good life, to make a difference in someone else's life, or the world around you.
I'll close in saying the following: Life only happens once, stop and smell the roses, and be thankful you're alive.

[bicep]

bawana said:

We need to wake up.
What do you expect.

We took God out of schools, the Ten comandents, Responsibilty for your own actions, They no longer teach values in school. We have to many LAWYERS, ( O.J. ) and our BLEEDING HEART ___ holes and Judges. Virgina is a CCW state but they can not bring them into school. The school voted on it, no guns in schools ( unless you do not obay the law) everyone who voted against it should be made to see the pictures of all the MURDERED CHILDREN, OVER AND OVER AGAIN. It may have stoped it, who knows. The USA is no longer Gomer Pile and Leave it to Beaver, there are people out there who want us dead! Forigen and Domestic, nuts and KOOKS. The Police, Border Patrol, any Law enforcement agent can't do a thing. Try calling 911!
Enough for now.

Oh come on, first of all it's a public school with many different people of many different races and of many different cultures. If they want a school with God and the commandments they can easily go to one of the many christian private schools. Nothing ever goes wrong in those schools.

Second of all, you think it should be legal to have guns on campus? What kinds of values are those...life isn't a Bruce Willis movie. Thats a great scenerio... one kid shows up and starts shooting then everybody pulls out there gun and starts firing back. Rather then a 30 dead we have a giant shoot out with a bunch of scared kids who have no idea how to fire a gun shooting wildly. I have to say, as a college student walking campus at night I'd be scared to death knowing everyone I walk by is locked and loaded...of course all would be well, I'd just cruise around with a shotgun in my right hand, a hunting knife in my left, a cigeratte in mouth and a patch over my eye...America the beautiful.

This was a tragic event but sometimes we need to respectfully morn for the ones lossed and show respect without blaming everyone else and spouting off thousands of different reasons why something went wrong.

[bawana]

I never said all students, nor did I ever say anything about Bruce Willis. Gee's, But a trained faculty or personal, may have helped, who knows. How about Responsibility for your own actions? Thank GOD he took his own life ! Other wise he would be in prison for a long time while the lawyers argued that it was not his fault, people made fun of him, his mommy scolded him when he was young.
I'm done, those that understand where I'm coming from know what I trying to get across. Those that don't, OH well.