Virginia Tech Campus Shut Down - Shooting Incident

[wade moore]

http://www.wavy.com/Global/story.asp?S=6375010

BREAKING NEWS - One Dead After Shooting at Virginia Tech Dorm
BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) -- A shooting at Virginia Tech this morning at a campus dormitory left at least one person dead, and police were trying to catch the shooter.
Virginia Tech officials canceled classes for the day and are warning the university community on the school's Web site that there is a "gunman on the loose" and that students, faculty and staff should stay inside and stay away from windows.
A state government official with knowledge of the incident told The Associated Press that at least one person was killed by the shooter and another was wounded.
School officials say the shooting happened earlier this morning at West Ambler Johnston Hall, one of the largest dorms on campus. It houses nearly 900 students.
Nineteen-year-old student Jason Anthony Smith of Culpeper lives in the dorm, known as "West A-J." He told The Associated Press ... quote ... "There's just a lot of commotion. It's hard to tell exactly what's going on." Smith says police are yelling at students to stay inside and that classes have been canceled.
Officials ordered the 26-hundred-acre campus closed and no one will be allowed on campus.
The shooting incident was the second at the school in less than one year. Last August, the campus was closed when an escaped jail inmate allegedly killed a hospital guard and a sheriff's deputy involved in a massive manhunt.

ugh. .I have a cousin that is in school there now and I know many people here have ties to the school..



I hope it all works out. They are reporting one student killed already, I hope it stops there.

[wade moore]

CNN reporting now that there was a second shooting and 7-8 casualties from that shooting.

That there is 1 dead and 1 wounded in first shooting.


Ugh.

[wade moore]

They are reporting that there is "someone in custody" but that there could still be someone on the loose.

[cthomer5000]

Wasn't there an almost identical story about a year ago? Or am i imagining this?

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by cthomer5000

Wasn't there an almost identical story about a year ago? Or am i imagining this?

A year ago an escaped inmate was loose on the campus and the campus went on lockdown. I do not believe that anyone was killed in that incident though.

[st.cronin]

Originally Posted by cthomer5000

Wasn't there an almost identical story about a year ago? Or am i imagining this?

I have a similar recollection, not sure if it was the same school or not.

[wade moore]

A quote from an updated version of the article I pasted above has this..

The shooting incident was the second at the school in less than one year. Last August, the campus was closed when an escaped jail inmate allegedly killed a hospital guard and a sheriff's deputy involved in a massive manhunt.

[cthomer5000]

thanks, my recollection was at least partially right then.

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by cthomer5000

thanks, my recollection was at least partially right then.

Yup. To VT's credit on this, it seems that VT acted very quickly in both incidents and smartly just shut everything down.

I don't know if you can blame them for the incidents happening in the first place, seems like youc an't - but you can hold them accountable for how they react to the incidents which seems favorable thus far.

[wade moore]

From the VT Website:

Shooting incident on campus


By Larry Hincker
BLACKSBURG, Va., April 16, 2007 -- Virginia Tech has closed today Monday, April 16, 2007. On Tuesday, April 17, classes will be canceled. The university will remain open for administrative operations.
There will be an additional university statement presented today at noon.
All students, faculty, and staff are required to stay where they are until police execute a planned evacuation. A phased closing will be in effect today; further information will be forthcoming as soon as police secure the campus.
Tomorrow, there will be a university convocation/ceremony at noon at Cassell Coliseum. The Inn at Virginia Tech has been designated as the site for parents to gather and obtain information.
-----------------
In addition to an earlier shooting today in West Ambler Johnston, there has been a multiple shooting with multiple victims in Norris Hall.
Police and EMS are on the scene.
Police have one shooter in custody and as part of routine police procedure, they continue to search for a second shooter.
All people in university buildings are required to stay inside until further notice.
All entrances to campus are closed.

[Oilers9911]

Thoughts and prayers for the victims and anyone associated with VT and to those who know someone that is.

[Swaggs]

Very sobering news.

[molson]

VT is enormous - like 30,000 students, right? I think it’s a little bit of media overkill to create this sense that everyone associated with the campus is in danger.

[Desnudo]

They were still hunting for the gunman...

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by molson

VT is enormous - like 30,000 students, right? I think it’s a little bit of media overkill to create this sense that everyone associated with the campus is in danger.

I think it's pretty stupid for you to make this statement.

There was a shooting on one side of campus at a dorm and then even with the campus going to lockdown later there was a shooting on the opposite side of the campus where many more people were at least injured (no news of deaths yet)...

I think it's prettys afe to say that if you're on the VT Campus right now you should not feel safe during this incident.

And, as stated, they were still on the lookout for a gunman. You cannot be cavalier in these situations and say "oh, there's 30,000 people, i'm fine".. come on now... putting it on lockdown and feeling like you could be in danger is appropriate.

[Swaggs]

I'm sure that nowhere near all 30,000 students live on campus or were on campus at the time of the shooting. I think it is a smart move to comparmentalize the students and staff that are there, so that they can be accounted for and isolated.

It is a terrible time for any school when a student passes away, but when it is something like this and it sounds like there are quite a few victims, it is going to be a real rough time for the school. Think about all the fun and freedoms you have as a college student and then something like this happens.

[wade moore]

The number injured they are reporting is up to 20.

[wade moore]

Whoah, whoah..

They just said 20 fatalities...

This is NOT good.

[scooper]

One shooting death out of 30,000 students is way too many. Two or more because they failed to act would have tragic.

Tech definately acted correctly.

And for the record, I also recalled the old story and at first thought I might be clicking on the old thread.

[scooper]

Originally Posted by scooper

One shooting death out of 30,000 students is way too many. Two or more because they failed to act would have tragic.

Tech definately acted correctly.

And for the record, I also recalled the old story and at first thought I might be clicking on the old thread.

If there are indeed 20 fatalities, crap.

[M GO BLUE!!!]

Damn.

Headline News is reporting at least 20 killed.

[Swaggs]

CNN just said 22 dead, including the gunman.

[Ksyrup]

[Ksyrup]

I wonder if the "in custody" suspect is the dead one, or is there really another suspect?

I don't have access to a TV, so I'm just going off of the delayed websites and you guys.


EDIT: Nevermind, I see reference to "lone gunman."

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by Swaggs

CNN just said 22 dead, including the gunman.

Just heard 22 dead including the gunman and another 21 injured.

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

I wonder if the "in custody" suspect is the dead one, or is there really another suspect?

I don't have access to a TV, so I'm just going off of the delayed websites and you guys.


EDIT: Nevermind, I see reference to "lone gunman."

Not clear at all. They showed a guy in cuffs against a wall early on, but he was clearly not injured.

[Bee]

MSNBC is saying 22 dead and 28 injured.

[molson]

Originally Posted by wade moore

I think it's pretty stupid for you to make this statement.

There was a shooting on one side of campus at a dorm and then even with the campus going to lockdown later there was a shooting on the opposite side of the campus where many more people were at least injured (no news of deaths yet)...

The news has spiraled for the worse since I wrote that, and I wasn't saying anything about VT's lockdown reaction. I was describing an isolated shooting on a huge campus where there might be 10k present at the time. Obviously this situation is now entirely different.

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by molson

The news has spiraled for the worse since I wrote that, and I wasn't saying anything about VT's lockdown reaction. I was describing an isolated shooting on a huge campus where there might be 10k present at the time. Obviously this situation is now entirely different.

I think any kind of shooting, even one that looks isolated, is a serious matter. I mean, we're not talking about a knife attack where you can see the attacker coming your way and there's some kind of a time of reaction involved, we're talking about guns and their potential to injure/kill from a distance. Even if "only" 10k were present on campus, it was a big deal, even before we learned that so many had been touched.

This is sad...

FM

[molson]

Fox News still says "Suspect Arrested", everyone else says "Lone Gunman Probably Dead".

[Bee]

As Wade said, they had pictures of somebody being taken into custody. They might have arrested someone who wasn't actually the gunman (incorrectly identified or something).

[GoldenEagle]

It really depresses me to hear about stuff like this.

[Ksyrup]

Couple of random thoughts as my mind continues to try wrapping itself around the magnitude of this tragedy:

Whether it was something as horrific as this or something else entirely, had Don Imus said what he said during a week that wasn't a slow news week, he'd probably still have a job.

And this passage from one of the online articles struck me as amazing. I don't feel like it was THAT long ago that I was in school, but this kind of thing sure makes me feel like it's been like 25-30 years...

"Madison Van Duyne said she and her classmates in a media writing class were on "lockdown" in their classrooms. They were huddled in the middle of the classroom, writing stories about the shootings and posting them online."

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by molson

The news has spiraled for the worse since I wrote that, and I wasn't saying anything about VT's lockdown reaction. I was describing an isolated shooting on a huge campus where there might be 10k present at the time. Obviously this situation is now entirely different.

Or you could say that it was an appropriate reaction to an unknown situation.

As someone else said, any time you have a gunman running around a school campus that has shown a willingness to shoot - then everyone is in danger.

[Swaggs]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Couple of random thoughts as my mind continues to try wrapping itself around the magnitude of this tragedy:

Whether it was something as horrific as this or something else entirely, had Don Imus said what he said during a week that wasn't a slow news week, he'd probably still have a job.

And this passage from one of the online articles struck me as amazing. I don't feel like it was THAT long ago that I was in school, but this kind of thing sure makes me feel like it's been like 25-30 years...

"Madison Van Duyne said she and her classmates in a media writing class were on "lockdown" in their classrooms. They were huddled in the middle of the classroom, writing stories about the shootings and posting them online."

I was thinking about the Imus-Rutgers story on this one and that post about whether it is the best we can do in the U.S. as far as news. I'd much rather have another week of Imus-Rutgers and/or Duke Lacross in the news than for us to have something like this happen. I feel terrible for all school students--I think something like this is really going to change things in a lot of university settings across the country.

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by Swaggs

I was thinking about the Imus-Rutgers story on this one and that post about whether it is the best we can do in the U.S. as far as news. I'd much rather have another week of Imus-Rutgers and/or Duke Lacross in the news than for us to have something like this happen. I feel terrible for all school students--I think something like this is really going to change things in a lot of university settings across the country.

w0rd.

The good thing in this case that seems to be coming out is that they had some sort of loudspeaker system installed mean for severe weather that they used to alert people to go into lockdown.

I sit here and think about my alma mater, William and Mary, that is about 2 miles from me. I thas only about 5,000 or so students.. but I can't imagine how they would work this. If this happened, I see no practical way to get the word out to people in classes, dorms, etc, etc... there is just no way I can think of to notify people en masse to get to safety. For as bad as the High School shootings are (and they're awful) there is at least a built-in method (pre-set signals, intercom, etc) for alerting everyone to the situation.

[Ksyrup]

I read elsewhere that Fox News is reporting there were multiple bomb threats made last week, including to the building where most of the killings took place. Anyone heard that?

Also, I know this isn't the specific date, but it's within a week of Columbine/Waco/OKC.

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

I read elsewhere that Fox News is reporting there were multiple bomb threats made last week, including to the building where most of the killings took place. Anyone heard that?

Also, I know this isn't the specific date, but it's within a week of Columbine/Waco/OKC.

Yeah, the bomb threat thing I've heard..

But the students they've had on the phone and my general reaction - unfortuantely this has become an all too common method of getting out of tests, etc. That's the assumption with the previous bomb threats - no credible evidence of any real bombs in any of them.

[Ksyrup]

Maybe not real, or maybe not even related, but could also be some indication of agitated behavior before the esclation to what happened today.

[King of New York]

Originally Posted by wade moore

w0rd.

The good thing in this case that seems to be coming out is that they had some sort of loudspeaker system installed mean for severe weather that they used to alert people to go into lockdown.

I sit here and think about my alma mater, William and Mary, that is about 2 miles from me. I thas only about 5,000 or so students.. but I can't imagine how they would work this. If this happened, I see no practical way to get the word out to people in classes, dorms, etc, etc... there is just no way I can think of to notify people en masse to get to safety. For as bad as the High School shootings are (and they're awful) there is at least a built-in method (pre-set signals, intercom, etc) for alerting everyone to the situation.

We'd be effed at W&M--nearly every school would be. It's hard to think of a more vulnerable environment than a college classroom: dozens or maybe hundreds of kids packed into rows, just two or three exits, anyone can wander in at any time.

Sad to say, but I expect that these shootings are going to touch off a wave of copycat shootings on other campuses. Every school has its borderline sociopaths.

I've always wondered what I would do if someone walked into my class with a gun--assuming that I'd get the chance to do anything.

Thoughts and prayers go out to the Hokies today.

[wade moore]

So...

I've heard about my cousin - his mother called mine - he's fine...

He has some VERY disturbing info on what word is happened here.

Do you guys want me to post that, or would it be completely irresponsible?

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by King of New York

We'd be effed at W&M--nearly every school would be. It's hard to think of a more vulnerable environment than a college classroom: dozens or maybe hundreds of kids packed into rows, just two or three exits, anyone can wander in at any time.

Sad to say, but I expect that these shootings are going to touch off a wave of copycat shootings on other campuses. Every school has its borderline sociopaths.

I've always wondered what I would do if someone walked into my class with a gun--assuming that I'd get the chance to do anything.

Thoughts and prayers go out to the Hokies today.

A-Ha, finally figured it out, so you are a professor, eh? I had a suspicion ...

Anyway, yes.. I agree.. it is an incredibly vulnerable situation... Hard to think of one more vulnerable.

The copycat thing certainly worries me, and I don't know that there is that much that universities can do about it.

[Swaggs]

Originally Posted by wade moore

So...

I've heard about my cousin - his mother called mine - he's fine...

He has some VERY disturbing info on what word is happened here.

Do you guys want me to post that, or would it be completely irresponsible?

I suspect that most information will leak out throughout the next few days, so I am interested in hearing from a student's point of view.

[wade moore]

I'm going to hold off for now.

The info is pretty specific, particularly if someone knows someone involved, and is so detailed that it's quite possibly a rumor that built up in the hysteria and has little to no basis in truth.

[MikeVic]

Wow, I never thought 22 would be dead after this. I checked in this thread earlier and saw 1 dead, with the gunman "possibly" being caught already. So I assumed they caught him. Now I hear that there's 22 dead. Sad.

I can't imagine what I would be thinking if the University I attended had an inmate running wild and shootings like this in back-to-back years. I'd be teaching myself out of textbooks at home for awhile I think.

[Young Drachma]

This is sad. But reveals how really insecure college campuses tend to be. I mean, there isn't a whole lot stopping things like this from happening on campuses and I really would worry about copycat situations.

[Bee]

abcnews.com is reporting the death toll now at 25 and expected to rise.

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by MikeVic

Wow, I never thought 22 would be dead after this. I checked in this thread earlier and saw 1 dead, with the gunman "possibly" being caught already. So I assumed they caught him. Now I hear that there's 22 dead. Sad.

I can't imagine what I would be thinking if the University I attended had an inmate running wild and shootings like this in back-to-back years. I'd be teaching myself out of textbooks at home for awhile I think.

and in fact, these incidents were both in the same academic year, it was only back in september (first day of classes).

That being said, I still feel like this isn't an indictment of the safety of VT and merely two isolated incidents.

[Ksyrup]

I don't think there's any way to stop this kind of thing from happening, not on an open campus setting like virtually every college/university has.

I'm assuming, from the high concentration of deaths in the second building, that he basically killed an entire class - had them stuck in that one room - rather than the typical cafeteria-type shootings we read about in high schools where people have multiple ways of escaping and the success rate is far less.

Just freaking awful. I just can't imagine.

[Bee]

Originally Posted by Bee

abcnews.com is reporting the death toll now at 25 and expected to rise.

abcnews.com has just updated their story to 29 confirmed dead. I'm hoping their information is wrong.