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Quote from: Philip Barbara
At least 22 people and as many as 32 were killed and more than two dozen wounded at Virginia Tech university on Monday in the deadliest campus shooting in U.S. history.
Fox News, quoting federal sources, said the death toll was 32.
The rampage by what police believed was a lone gunman took place in two separate areas about two hours apart. Students who had begun crisscrossing the large campus for morning classes rushed for cover.
"This is a tragedy of monumental proportions," Virginia Tech president Charles Steger told reporters.
Virginia Tech campus police chief Wendell Finchum said the suspected gunman was dead and that police were trying to determine whether he killed himself or was shot by officers.
"At this time we believe it\'s only one gunman," said Finchum.
President George W. Bush was "horrified" by the shooting White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said.
"He was horrified and his immediate reaction was one of deep concern for the families of the victims, the victims themselves, the students, the professors and all of the people of Virginia who have dealt with this shocking incident," she said.
A student journalist\'s video of the chaos was replayed repeatedly on U.S. television networks, showing people scurrying around the campus and volleys of shots ringing out.
The death toll was worse than a massacre at the University of Texas in Austin on August 1, 1966, when trained marksman Charles Whitman killed 15 people, including his mother and wife the night before, and wounded 31 others.
The first shooting at Virginia Tech, a state university, was reported to campus police at about 7:15 a.m. (1115 GMT) in West Ambler Johnston Hall, a dormitory housing some 900 students.
It was followed by more shooting at Norris Hall, site of the science and engineering school that has given the university much of its fame as a leading technical institute in the United States.
MULTIPLE BOMB THREATS
The wounded were taken to hospitals in the area for treatment.
Students told CNN there were multiple bomb threats to the campus last week. Two of the threats were aimed at the science and engineering school.
Virginia Tech, with 26,000 students, is located in the town of Blacksburg and set in lush rolling hills in the southwest corner of the state, about 240 miles from Washington.
"It\'s just shock and anger around here right now," graduate student Elizabeth Stewart told CNN, adding she saw the shootings as "freak incidents" that would not stop her attending Virginia Tech.
"I love my school with all my heart and soul."
The university had already sent out an e-mail canceling classes after the first shooting when students heard more shots, another student, Laura Spaventa, told CNN.
Classes were canceled for Monday and Tuesday and counselors were being brought in to talk to the students.
"We continue to work to identify the victims that have been impacted by this tragedy," said Steger, the university president.
"I cannot begin to convey my own personal sense of loss over this senseless and incomprehensible heinous act."
Virginia Tech closed for a day last August 21 because of a manhunt for an escaped prisoner. William Morva, accused of shooting and killing a hospital guard and then a sheriff\'s deputy near the Virginia Tech campus while on the run, was captured a day after escaping custody on August 20.
U.S. News & World Report, which produces well-regarded annual ratings of U.S. universities, ranked Virginia Tech\'s College of Engineering 17th for an engineering school in the United States, tied with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Texas A&M University, and the University of Minnesota.
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I have been following the story on BigD103 this afternoon....
I am hearing that the body count is 30 and growing.....
A Horrible Tragedy Indeed......
Hopefully no copycat incidents will ensue.... -
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Watching the news right now, 31 confirmed dead, seems to already be a Columbine copycat in certain methods from what they\'re saying on the news. There were 2 seperate incidents 2hrs apart, so this kid was able to get from one end of campus to the other withouut someone stopping him. Sad story.
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Fox news according to this report states 32 dead.
Sad really. This is something you heard about in history and watch on TV but never think that it would actually happen, especially on your own campus. School sucks on Monday, these students didn\'t need this. -
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horrible world we live in.
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Quote from: Me!;142216
There were 2 seperate incidents 2hrs apart, so this kid was able to get from one end of campus to the other withouut someone stopping him. Sad story.
I can\'t believe the gunman had TWO chances for these attacks.
I\'m glad, at least, that the killer\'s dead... hopefully he/she was working alone. :rip: -
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Holy crap!!
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This truly is a horrible incident and it is unfortunate that these things happen. Fell sorry for the people who have been directly affected by this outrageous incident.
I do however, want to learn more about the actual gunman and see what his motive is.
I can understand a murder with people you directly know but to open fire on an entire university is a whole other story.
This is quite an interesting event to unfold. -
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i have been down in the bar at work watching the news for the last 30 min or so. this is just insane. what a horrible tragedy to take place on a college campus or anywhere in this country for that matter. virginia tech is a great school. beautiful campus. i was down visiting a friend during the school year in \'05. what a shame to hear about something like this happening.
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Quote from: sallyalli;142218 horrible world we live in.
the world we live in is the most amazing and beautiful place i can imagine.......
however its some of the people in this world that make it seem so shitty....... -
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Quote from: Spacey;142221
I do however, want to learn more about the actual gunman and see what his motive is.
don\'t worry, this time tomorrow the whole investigation will begin on how this could happen, how the police failed to act in a reasonable amount of time and then, after all that is done, the media will speculate on the shooters\' movies/gaming/music preference.
underneath all of that, the victims won\'t even be mentioned.
sad, really.
the whole 2 hours thing is inexcusable. -
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Quote from: davepeck;142225
the whole 2 hours thing is inexcusable.
I agree, I just heard on MSNBC from one student that said the 1st shooting happened @ 7 or so and there was no mention of it to the student body until an email was sent out @ 930 or so, classes were not cancelled or anything else to that effect. That place should have been flooded with Cops and the campus either locked down or evacuated.
"The worst mass shooting in US history" -
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You would think and hope by now that they\'d have plans in place for such bullshit.
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They say all last week the campus and specifically the Science/Engineering building was targeted with bomb threats.
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Quote from: Stephengencs;142223Quote from: sallyalli;142218 horrible world we live in.
the world we live in is the most amazing and beautiful place i can imagine.......
however its some of the people in this world that make it seem so shitty.......
Word.
This is some horrible news. -