At Least 20 Killed in Virginia Tech Shooting
By Robert E. Pierre
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, April 16, 2007; 12:48 PM
At least 20 people were killed this morning at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and University after a shooting spree at two buildings on the campus.
The unidentified shooter was among the dead, according to officials, who also said that several were injured in the shootings, at West Ambler Johnston, a dormitory, and Norris Hall, which houses the College of Engineering. Authorities said the first shooting was reported shortly after 7 a.m.
"We have a ballpark figure on fatalities," Virginia Tech Police Chief Wendell Flinchum, said at a news conference broadcast by CNN. "It's at least 20 fatalities."
Flinchum said he did not know whether the shooter was a student. Some of those killed were in a classroom, he said.
"Today the university was struck with a tragedy that we consider of monumental proportions," Virginia Tech president Charles Steger said at a news conference. "The university is shocked and indeed horrified that this would befall us."
The campus, about four hours southwest of Washington, was shutdown.
CNN showed a video taken by a student in which dozens of shots could be heard.
Students and staff were notified by e-mail and automated voicemails that a gunman was on the loose and that everyone should stay in their buildings and "away from windows."
Staff and students contacted by telephone said the mornings events were unnerving.
David Harris, who works at the Center for Applied Behavioral Systems, said he arrived at 9:15 a.m. and received the first e-mail about 15 minutes later. It said there had been a shooting on campus, sending some into a frenzy.
"It was a little nerve-wracking," he said. "There were rumors that the gunman had jumped out the window and broke his neck. Then we got the second e-mail saying that a gunman was on the loose and telling us to stay away from the windows."
Harris said he has been told that the university is planning to evacuate everyone from the campus later today, though he was not certain.
The co-ed West Ambler Johnston dorm is one of the largest residence halls on campus, housing 895 residents.
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." She said university officials were "doing a wonderful job of e-mailing us and just trying to keep us updated."
Last August the campus was shut down because of concerns that a gunman was on campus. The man, an escaped inmate accused of killing a sheriff's deputy and a security guard, was later captured at VirginiaTech.
One woman who answered the phone in the school's Entomology Department said that about 9:45, they were notified that everyone was to remain in their offices and not venture out but were not given any other details. "There's cop cars everywhere," said the woman.
Another worker at the university, who also did not wish to be identified, said that there has been a dearth of information, except what could be gleaned from news reports.
"We're all just staying put," said the second woman.
), I am heading down NOW to lay away that WASR 10 I was thinking I might buy. The thing that really grinds me, and should grind the poor parents of the victims, is the idea that a couple of CCWs might have put a speedy end to this s^&* before it got out of control...
