Heartbreaking and Horrific: 32 Killed in Virginia Tech Shootings, At Least 24 Injured
by Pamela LeaveyI’m not sure if I can find the words to describe how this makes me feel, after spending Saturday checking out 1 of 3 of the college campuses my daughter has been accepted to, this news is just incredibly heartbreaking and horrific to me. We all hope that our children will go off to school, any school — from elementary through college — and be safe. And then, there’s news like this…
Since this story first broke a few hours ago, the numbers of dead and injured have grown. The WaPo reports, “Thirty-two people have reportedly been killed and more than two dozen others injured during a shooting rampage this morning at Virginia Tech, making it the deadliest shooting spree in U.S. history, according to law enforcement sources.”
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.
Earlier today, Virginia Tech Police Chief Wendell Flinchum said at a news conference that there were “at least 20 fatalities.” The university’s Web site, in a message posted at 1:55 p.m. said “Two shootings on campus today have left 22 confirmed dead, including students.”
Flinchum said he did not know whether the shooter was a student. Some of those killed were students in a classroom at Norris Hall, he said.
Virginia Tech president Charles Steger said police first received a call about 7:15 a.m. about a shooting at West Ambler Johnston, where police found multiple shooting victims. He said that about two hours later, university police received reports of shooting in Norris Hall. “The shooter in Norris Hall is deceased,” Steger said.
The campus, about four hours southwest of Washington, was shutdown.
“Today the university was struck with a tragedy that we consider of monumental proportions,” Steger said at the news conference. “The university is shocked and indeed horrified that this would befall us.”
The WaPo reports that “CNN showed a video taken by a student in which dozens of shots could be heard,” and, “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.”"
All across campus, people were trying to figure out what was happening, with cell phones sometimes working and sometimes not, the university Web site sometimes working and sometimes not, and the sound of sirens everywhere. Many watched from inside dorm rooms or offices, trading rumors and bad news.
ABC News reports that “Law enforcement sources” told ABC News that “an off-campus incident may have sparked the shooting, but details were unclear.” ABC also “confirmed that there were two separate bomb threats last week at Virginia Tech.”
NBC News reports that the “Silent gunman ‘just started shooting’.”
A student in the engineering class describe an “unreal” scene with “blood pretty much everywhere.”
“None of us thought it could have been gunshots,” the student, who identified himself as Trey Jenkins, told MSNBC’s Chris Jansing in a telephone interview. “… I’m not sure how long it lasted. It seemed like a really long time.”
Perkins said the gunman never said a word. “He didn’t say, ‘Get down.’ He didn’t say anything.” He just started shooting.”
The gunman left the classroom and then tried to return, but students kept him out by bracing the door closed with their feet. “He started to try to come in again and started shooting through the door,” Perkins said, but hit no one.
“I got on the ground and I was just thinking, like, there’s no way I’m going to survive this,” Perkins said. “All I could keep thinking of was my mom.”
I shake my head in horror and ask, how do we stop this from happening in our nations schools?
Memeorandum has all the buzz in the blogosphere here. Among the notable posts that I’ve had a chance to read are these blogs:
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Words cannot express the horror of this tragedy. I was watching a couple of the students, who had escaped, being interviewed on NBC. One has his arm in a sling, due to being wounded. They were in German class when the gunman entered their classroom and first shot and killed their professor. They went on to describe the massacre which took place in their classroom, before the gunman moved on to indiscriminately kill others. My eyes were filled with tears by the conclusion of the interview.
At this point, the entire nation is most likely numb and unable to put their outrage into words. I know that I am. It may be too soon to start casting blame, but I am going to venture to do in anyway. The National Rifle Association comes quickly to mind as an often, but legitmate, contributor to this carnage!
I do not begrudge any citizen the right to bear arms, as guranteed in the US Constitution. However, the NRA has consistently carried this protected right to extremes. Although guranteed, the “right” to bear arms is actually a “priviledge”. Because of their “bring em’ on” mentality, guns have frequently gotten legally into the hands of habitual criminals and/or the mentally ill.
Their work has fostered a proliferation of big scale assult guns/rifles on our streets. The ability for these weapons to kill would be more suited for a war zone than as a means of self defense.
I live in northern Delaware, just 25 miles south of Philadelphia. So far this year “The City Of Brotherly Love” has experienced 114 murders. At this rate, they will easily pass 500 and break their all time record. The city police complain that it’s virtually impossible to keep illegal guns off of the streets. The Philly police, like other large city forces, have sought for the NRA to temper their “no holds barred stand” on gun legislation. The NRA, however, continues to ignore the pleas of our nations policemen. They keep spouting their standard answer, that people and not guns cause these deaths. I wonder how much solice their stance provides to the families of the 114 murdered in Philly or the familes of todays V.T. victims?
This was not meant to be a rant but sometimes profound sorrow can change to anger. I think this carnage would warrant President Bush to declare a national day of mourning. God bless the souls of these victims and their families!