BLACKSBURG, VIRGINIA -- A lone gunman stalked the campus of Virginia Tech, leaving at least 33 dead and 15 being treated at local hospitals. It was the worst mass shooting in American history, reminding some of the horrors of Columbine.
“I’m at a loss for words to explain or understand the carnage that has visited our campus today,” said Charles Steger, president of Virginia Tech. He and other officials faced criticism because of a two-hour delay between the first reports of shootings and their ultimate decision to lock down the campus.
The incident began at 7:15 a.m., with a report of two shootings in a dorm room at Amber Johnston Hall. Campus officials closed this building down, and began to investigate the incident, operating on the assumption this was an isolated domestic act. “We acted on the best information we had at the time,” said Wendell Flinchum, Virginia Tech police chief.
Two hours later shootings erupted again, this time at Norris Hall, where 31 died, including the shooter, described as an Asian male in his 20s. Dressed in a black leather jacket and maroon hat, he carried at least one automatic weapon as he carried out his murderous rampage. The gunman chained entrance doors shut preventing access to the building before he took his own life at the end of the siege.
It wasn’t until 9:26 a.m. when the first email went out to students warning of the crisis, well after thousands had arrived for their morning classes. Students reportedly jumped out of first and second story windows at Norris Hall to escape the shooter, and several sustained broken ankles after their falls.
“This is a shock and we’re trying to do all we can for the families,” said Police Chief Flinchum. His officers were in the process of identifying victims and notifying next-of-kin. More than 9,000 students live on the campus, with 14,000 commuting from various locations off-campus, according to officials.
“We have to think about the process of healing,” President Stegner said. “It will be a long, difficult road for people to feel normal about going in those buildings again.”
The university is updating students through e-mails, and an Internet webcam is broadcasting live pictures of the campus, according to story posted on the CNN website.
The shootings came three days after a bomb threat Friday forced the cancellation of classes in three buildings, WDBJ in Roanoke reported. Also, the 100,000-square-foot Torgersen Hall was evacuated April 2 after police received a written bomb threat, The Roanoke Times reported.
Last August, the first day of classes was cut short by a manhunt after an escaped prisoner was accused of killing a Blacksburg hospital security guard and a sheriff's deputy.
After the Monday shootings, students were instructed to stay indoors and away from windows, according to a university statement.
The university has scheduled a convocation for 2 p.m. ET Tuesday. Classes also have been canceled Tuesday.
In Washington, the House and Senate observed moments of silence for the victims and President Bush said the nation was "shocked and saddened" by news of the tragedy
"Today, our nation grieves with those who have lost loved ones," he said. "We hold the victims in our hearts, we lift them up in our prayers and we ask a loving God to comfort those who are suffering today."
Alec Hill, president of InterVarsity, in a statement issued to the media said: "We are stunned and saddened by the reports of today’s shootings at Virginia Tech. InterVarsity has three staff members who work with about 180 students on the Virginia Tech campus. We are thankful that none of them were directly harmed by the shooting. Staff and students are meeting tonight to pray for their campus."
Hill said InterVarsity students are also planning a campus-wide prayer event on Wednesday at noon.
Hill added: "Our thoughts and our prayers are with the students of Virginia Tech and their families. Events such as today’s tragic shooting bring students to an abrupt confrontation with their own mortality. InterVarsity staff are trained to help students face life’s issues and find their hope in the promises of Jesus Christ. Our staff members, Wes Barts, Lindsey Jones and Robert Howe, ask for your prayers as they and their students deal with the impact of this tragedy."
InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA® is an evangelical campus mission serving more than 35,000 students and faculty on more than 560 college and university campuses nationwide.
Franklin Graham, president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association issued the following statement following Monday’s mass shooting at Virginia Tech:
Graham said: “My heart is heavy with the tragic news of the deadliest school shooting incident in American history and our prayers are with the dozens of victims and their families during this horrible time. The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) has offered the resources of our Rapid Response Team, which sends chaplains trained in crisis counseling, to assist the Blacksburg community in the days ahead as we have done in many situations since 9/11 in New York City.
"Sadly, we have once again been reminded of the evil that people can perpetrate on others; and while many theories will surface in the coming days and weeks about how such a terrible act occurs, I believe what we’ve seen here is ultimately a reflection of the condition of the human heart."
Graham added: "Having traveled to disaster and war areas around the world, I am often asked why God would allow such acts of destruction or violence upon innocent people; and while I can’t know the whole mind of God I do know two things. First, God created us. Second, God loves us and desires that all would come to Him.
"My prayer in this time of tragedy is that it will pull us together as a nation and focus our attention on those families who have suffered great loss and turn our eyes to the Prince of all peace, Jesus Christ."
The BGEA has deployed more than 700 trained chaplains to the Gulf Coast region since August 2005 to assist with post-Katrina counseling and sent chaplains to the Red Lake Indian Reservation in Minnesota following a fatal high school shooting in 2005, among other crisis response efforts.
Before Monday, the deadliest school shootings came in 1966 and 1999.
In the former, Charles Joseph Whitman, a 25-year-old ex-Marine, killed 13 people on the University of Texas campus. He was killed by police.
In 1999, 17-year-old Dylan Klebold and 18-year-old Eric Harris -- armed with guns and pipe bombs -- killed 12 students and a teacher before killing themselves at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado.
© 2007 ASSIST News Service, used with permission
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