In the wake of the shooting at Northern Illinois University, numerous groups commemorating the event have already cropped up on Facebook.

On one of the largest groups, “Pray for Northern Illinois University Students and Families,” hundreds of students from different universities contributed almost 2,000 posts within a day’s time — the earliest as soon as 5:43 p.m.

Some sent their condolences. Others reacted with shock. Some even said a family member had been caught in the gunfire. One high-school student wrote at 7:50 p.m. yesterday:

“hey guys my cousin was shot in the class room in the back of the head if anyone was in the class room can they please send me a message or something so we can talk. Thank you sooo sooo much most of my family are heading out to Dekalb i ddnt get to go so please respnd back,”

Another student warned of an overload in the cell towers at 9:19 p.m.:

“If you can’t get a hold of your friends/family there, don’t stop trying. The cell towers are completely jammed right now. The companies are in the process of bringing equipment there right now to increase capacity.”

The shootings resonated with students from Virginia Tech, who are some of the most prominent post contributors. —Hurley Goodall