April 16, 2007

Death Toll Rises to at Least 33 in Mass Shootings at Virginia Tech

A gunman who shot at least 32 people to death and wounded two dozen others at Virginia Tech this morning killed himself inside a classroom building, The Roanoke Times reported, citing the university’s president and the campus police.

The death toll has risen throughout the day, and the newspaper said the incident appeared to be the deadliest mass shooting in American history.

The shootings began in a dormitory, West Ambler Johnston Hall, where two people were killed and seven or eight others were wounded, and ended two hours later at Norris Hall, an engineering building. Virginia Tech warned all students and others on the campus to beware. “A gunman is loose on campus,” read an announcement on the university’s Web site. “Stay in buildings until further notice. Stay away from all windows.”

The university’s Web site was often inaccessible today because of the number of users seeking information on the scene. Late today, the university set up an alternate Web site to provide news and information about the tragedy and its aftermath.

The gunman was not identified. It was not known if he was a student, or what his motive was. The university closed the campus and canceled classes.

Virginia Tech’s president, Charles W. Steger, said this afternoon that “the university is shocked and indeed horrified that this would befall us.” In a statement, Mr. Steger said that the university had been “struck with a tragedy that we consider of monumental proportions.” In the statement, he said victims were still being identified and next of kin notified.

This is the second time in a year that the university, in Blacksburg, Va., has dealt with a gunman. On the opening day of classes in August 2006, an escaped prison inmate allegedly killed a hospital guard and escaped to Virginia Tech’s campus. During the manhunt a deputy was killed on a trail just off campus. —Lauren Smith

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Comments

1. My thoughts are with the families, students, staff and faculty of this campus in dealing with this horrible tragedy. This kind of thing can happen anywhere.

   — Cat Donnelly    Apr 16, 03:10 PM    #

2. No, this would be a very, very unlikely incident at a European university, because they at the very least forbid semi-automatic and automatic weapons. The guy was obviously loopy, but he had easy access to weapons, weapons that fire at will. But hey, let’s protect that 2nd amendment. Of course I feel terrible for all those affected, but I am angered that the NRA and gun-rights defenders will use the specious argument of protect our rights.

   — chris k    Apr 16, 03:33 PM    #

3. MAY GOD HELP US
   WE AS A NATION TRIED SO HARD TO TAKE GOD OUT OF SCHOOL,LETS PUT HIM BACK IN

   — DONNA ELLIOTT    Apr 16, 03:36 PM    #

4. One can only wonder “Why?” this is apparently a deranged person, inflicting such sadness upon individuals and families alike. Let us pray that those families who have been affected by this tragedy are sustained with great faith to cope in the days ahead with such shock and trauma. At the same time, we extend to the administration, faculty and students our sympathies on such a great loss.

   — Joseph Sciame    Apr 16, 03:39 PM    #

5. I am stunned and saddened by this tragedy. My thoughts and prayers go out to the VT campus, its victims, and their families.

   — Britt Q. Hoover    Apr 16, 03:44 PM    #

6. This is really unbelievable. God bless and keep the families of those who have been killed or injured. We need outside security gates with 3 passing points setup at every single school here in America. This may sound rediculous, but it’s for the safety of our kids and we need to do something!

   — Barbara Kuykendall    Apr 16, 03:47 PM    #

7. Rather than assume that we know anything until the investigation has taken place, I think I speak for most of VT’s colleagues and friends across the entire nation in saying that you are all in out thoughts and prayers. We will be there for you as you begin to heal from this traumatic experience.

   — David Milstone    Apr 16, 03:52 PM    #

8. May the Lord comfort those in need at this tragic time.

   — Jody Cleven    Apr 16, 04:03 PM    #

9. Chris K — This is a time of tragedy, for reflection and mourning. Keep your political opinions to yourself out of respect for the dead. If not a gun, it would be a knife, and if not a knife a car. This is evidence of man’s total depravity.

   — Greg T    Apr 16, 04:04 PM    #

10. To the poster that indicated that this is unlikely to happen at a European university because they forbid semi- and fully automatic weapons – you are extremely misinformed and displaying great ignorance. There is no information, in any of the reports that I’ve read to date, regarding the type of weapon(s) utilized. The amount of psycological control a single gunman (even with a single-action weapon) can exert in the absence of significant security presence is enormous.

    This is a very unlikely, tragic, and unfortunately very real event.

    I think we can all hope that nothing like this happens elsewhere, ever.

    — T M    Apr 16, 04:04 PM    #

11. My thoughts and prayers go out to the entire VA Tech community.

    — Becky    Apr 16, 04:10 PM    #

12. I agreee with the sentiment that the victims not a political agenda need to be the focus. I am saddened anyone used this as a gun issue. What if it had been a suicide bomber? What if everyone carried a gun to class? How far would this murderer have gotten even if 10% of the students had concealed carry permits?

    — TR    Apr 16, 04:28 PM    #

13. Stunned, shocked, bewildered, and scared to work on a campus! Let’s be strong and pray for good sense and humanity in mankind! Let’s be united! Heart goes out to the deceased and their families, and all those directly or indirectly affected!

    — Ban    Apr 16, 04:36 PM    #

14. May God bless and comfort the entire VA Tech community and the families of those injured or killed. My heart is truly saddened by this horrendous event.

    — Linda    Apr 16, 04:38 PM    #

15. How could the university not catch the shooter after the first set of shots?

    — TSM    Apr 16, 04:41 PM    #

16. How can any of you believe in God after an event like that? God just had to send a better shooter this time. He couldn’t send inaccurate shooters as he did the first time, which saved the lives of a lot of students.

    — Adrian    Apr 16, 04:46 PM    #

17. May God be with all those affected by this tragedy and their families. I have many friends who went to Virginia Tech and I know what a proud tradition and heritage exists there—this is a horrible tragedy. It brings home the unsettling realization that this can happen to any of us who have chosen to serve students in higher education settings across our nation.

    — Sarah C    Apr 16, 04:47 PM    #

18. We here at our university are saddened for all at VT and horrified. What can we do to better protect our students? Only a gun or bomb could create such loss. How many horrific school incidents will we witness while our nation defends gun ownership? The shame is on all of us who do nothing to prevent the next incident.

    — CG    Apr 16, 04:51 PM    #

19. Senseless event that will be felt for many years to come. Condolences to the familes of the ones lost and injured and my thoughts immediatly turn to the Residence Life Staff and all the others involved trying to protet the students. Have mercy on us Lord.

    — J. Andersen    Apr 16, 04:56 PM    #

20. I would like to send my regaurds to all the families and VA tech community. That my prays are with you.

    — Joseph Johnson(urpalate.com)    Apr 16, 04:57 PM    #

21. This is indeed a tragedy. I encourage folks to read Jackson Katz’s The Macho Paradox. In his book he talks specifically to school shootings as manifestation of the male gender role socialization process and how we are raising our boys to become violent men, who see violence as an exercise in power and control. This text along with other authors such as Michael Kimmel concur with this assessment and really ask us to think about the heart of men’s violent behavior. Don’t be blinded by the God in schools debate and the limit of guns hyperbole, this is about men’s violent behavior towards women and other men.

    — BR    Apr 16, 04:57 PM    #

22. 12. I am devastated to hear yet again about another massive tragedy such as this one. As a Nation, it is our duty to collectively tap into our faith(s) to give these victims’ families and that of the gunmans’ family comfort, hope, and peace.

    — Wendell    Apr 16, 05:01 PM    #

23. As a loyal Virginia Tech alumnus, my thoughts and prayers go out to the entire Virginia Tech community.

    — Chris B.    Apr 16, 05:14 PM    #

24. Donna, do you think “putting God back in the school” would have prevented this? For all we know the shooter could have been a religious fanatic acting on what he believed were the instructions of God.

    — L G    Apr 16, 05:28 PM    #

25. Chris K—

    Not only are you callous, but also totally misinformed. Similar incidents have already happened at European schools (limiting to universities makes no sense). See here for a good list of similar incidents around the world: http://www2.indystar.com/library/factfiles/crime/school_violence/school_shootings.html.

    Put plainly, the main reason many European countries experience less violent crime is that Europeans live there. America, unfortunately, is simply more prone to violence than most European nations (but less prone than African and some other nations).

    Furthermore, in America gun legality and prevalence do not correlate well to violence levels — note that America’s most violent cities almost uniformly have the most restrictive gun laws.

    I have no doubt that gun control advocates will seize on this horrible day to push their agenda. Remember when they speak and write, their arguments were no better on April 15, 2007.

    Learn and think first, Chris, then speak.

    — Steve in Princeton    Apr 16, 05:50 PM    #

26. Dear friends …

    As a college administrator, my thoughts and prayers to the staff, faculty and students at Virginia Tech. May you all find strenght in the thoughts and prayers of those around you – far and near.

    — Frank    Apr 16, 05:53 PM    #

27. The Saint Peter’s College community in Jersey City, NJ is praying for the victims, their families, and the VA Tech community. May God be with you all.

    — Salvatore J. Turchio    Apr 16, 06:04 PM    #

28. This is a tragedy of enormous proportion. I do not think this is the time to debate whether gun control or God in schools would have prevented these events. Any student of history will note that neither (gun control or God) will curtail a country afraid of its neighbors and itself. Nor can a country, unable to have critical dialogue about who we are and what we value, avoid similar circumstances. Religion gave us ‘an eye for an eye’. If you read carefully the reasoning behind similar tragedies, when people feel they have been wronged, they have gouged out the eye. My prayers go out to all the family members who lost a loved one and to Virginia Tech.

    — Kimberly    Apr 16, 06:14 PM    #

29. Does prayer help? I still believe. As a german I pray for everybody who don`t know love. God is love and everybody should it experience it. Let`s love. We carry responsibility for each other.

    — Stephan    Apr 16, 06:15 PM    #

30. I´m just very sorry for the people that died or those that were injured.

    And no… just use one neuron, and this kind of sick behaviour will have never ended in such a massive tragedy in Europe (besides Rusia and friends and perhaps Turkey…).

    But this is not politics, is common sense. I don´t care who rules our country but please, do not let this happen again.

    And no, invoking God will do no good at this time. It didn´t do it this morning…

    — Tim Price    Apr 16, 06:30 PM    #

31. The time for finding reasons and solutions will come. Right now, let’s concentrate on the needs of our fellow citizens as they deal with this tragedy.

    We are all with you.

    — Roberta Campbell    Apr 16, 06:52 PM    #

32. I just hope that this gunman was not a Muslim. In these times, any Muslim nutcase will be depicted as a terrorist and that will make the lives of other Muslims (such as me) more terrible. We live in constant fear now, as we mourn with other Americans.

    All of our prayers and thoughts are with the survivors and the families of the victims.

    — Abdullah    Apr 16, 06:54 PM    #

33. Debate the causes tomorrow or next week. Today…just have empathy and feel for the families who have lost loved ones.
    smoore

    — smoore    Apr 16, 06:57 PM    #

34. I am shocked and saddened – I feel such sorrow for all the students, staff and faculty at VT – I think there needs to be Federal standards in crisis managment and prevention for campus violence and terrorism for all post secondary institutions; there needs to be workshops and information on what to do if you are on campus and something happens that is sudden and dangerous – I just do not know how you can predict these things – I guess you cannot; but maybe we as a Nation can create a game plan to help protect students, staff and faculty at our colleges and universities.

    — maria pena    Apr 16, 06:57 PM    #

35. I don’t understand why in the midst of a crisis people feel the need to argue trivial things such as “this would never happen in a european school” and wheather or not its an intelligent statement.

    My prayers and thoughts are with all the victims of this atrocity and to the soul of the shooter, for he most of all needed help and the love of the Lord our God.

    — DiamondAce    Apr 16, 07:09 PM    #

36. This is such a terrible tragedy ! I was shocked at first but not suprised . There is so much violence going on in our society these days . Yes, the gun control advocates will definately jump on this tragedy but I don’t blame the guns for this . The guns don’t kill people until they are pointed at someone and then the trigger gets pulled . I am saddened that this country has come to such violence . I can go all day talking about the violence in this country and try to figure out why . But the truth is , is I do not . Nobody does ! Please remember everyone that guns don’t kill people , people kill people ! I love my gun rights and I love my country .

    I want to send my thoughts and prayers to everyone at VA Tech and everyone else who has been affected by this terrible tragedy .

    Rick B. Montana USA

    — Rick B.    Apr 16, 07:42 PM    #

37. I’m amused that so many people who are annoyed at Chris K are going on about how religion would fix everything. Religion is politics just as much as gun control – it’s all about what you believe. Please stop being hypocritical!

    — AY    Apr 16, 07:57 PM    #

38. Not so much amused as dismayed that as academics we only turn to theory (politics or religion) and not practicality… my students today really only wanted to know why there was no lock on our classroom door.

    — JH    Apr 16, 09:13 PM    #

39. My heart, thoughts, and prayers are with the VA tech community right now. I know personally a number of people affiliated with the school, and I feel compelled to say that I’m totally disgusted that some of you are taking this tragedy as a moment to grandstand for public religion and gun control or to air your wretched cynicism. Yuck!

    — prof    Apr 16, 09:28 PM    #

40. people, let’s not panic. Every day you take your life into your hands when you get behind the wheel of a large weapon. You get into a plane that could crash. We are a violent society, but instituting more “police state” tactics and other civil rights violations will simply contribute to our desperation. We need to look to how we can fix the jobs, economy, healthcare system, and restore HOPE for America, not put more KGB and police state security everywhere. And for the God thing, this country was founded upon principles of social justice and the ideals of equality. Religion was deliberately left out of the equation of governing.

    — arlene k golden    Apr 16, 09:46 PM    #

41. As the parent of a college freshman and a community college administrator, I mourn the loss of such beautiful lives that have no chance to make society better. May God give the parents courage.

    — Paste Boul    Apr 16, 09:54 PM    #

42. My prayers and thoughts go out to the families and classmates of the fallen students. I hope that VT will recover quickly from this tragedy

    — CC    Apr 16, 11:50 PM    #

43. First, my prayers and thoughts go out to the entire community of Blacksburg.

    To deal with some of the other comments:

    Religion gave us “an eye for an eye”? It also gave us “turn the other cheek” and “love those who persecute you.” Are you only thinking of the old testament? As someone else said, God is love and the fulfillment of all things good.

    Also, The founding fathers of this great nation gave us freedom OF religion, not freedom FROM religion. There is very clear distinction there.

    For being predominantly educators in here, one would think that we’d be more respective of diverse beliefs of God (in whichever faith or system of beliefs that one holds) and politics. Diversity is more than just race, ethnicity, and orientation. It is also religion and political viewpoint.

    — DNS    Apr 17, 12:28 AM    #

44. Sorry, Steve in Princeton, but YOU are the one who needs to think a bit. Societies with fewer guns have less gun violence, and US states with more guns and fewer gun laws have more gun violence per capita. That is well established. We have a school or office shooting seemingly every other day in the US, check the European countries on that and see how they do. This is not about the US being more violent, it is about GUNS and their easy availability here to just about anyone who wants one. Pure and simple. http://ilovemydaughtermorethanyouloveyourgun.blogspot.com/

    — Alexander in Lewisburg    Apr 17, 01:23 AM    #

45. Our prayers are with you, the campus, friends and family, and the surrounding community. Even in the beautiful hills of Blacksburg, we are not immune from senseless violence. All of us that have attended Va Tech have been touched by our experience there and changed for the better. I hope that we can be a support to those who are suffering now, through our prayers and comforting words and thoughts.

    — VT Alumnis    Apr 17, 01:42 AM    #

46. This is a sad day of mourning for all of us in higher ed, to be reminded that horror and tragedies can invade our world just like anyone else. Let’s all strive to reach out rather than lash out. Senseless violence will never make sense, no matter which lens you view it through.

    — Anne    Apr 17, 02:14 AM    #

47. On behalf of the Office of Student Affairs at AMA International University Bahrain, we would like to extend our condolences to the victims families and friends. May God Bless their souls.

    — Doris Martin    Apr 17, 02:18 AM    #

48. For those that even today still want to make their case on “I love my guns because this is USA” just some numbers.
    Funnily enough this link was sent by a pro-gun advocate to claim that this kind of crimes happen everywhere.
    Link to school shootings around the world since 1979
    http://www2.indystar.com/library/factfiles/crime/school_violence/school_shootings.html
    Numbers:
    64 shootings around the world
    Africa: 2
    Europe: 4
    Asia: 1
    Canada: 1

    USA: 56
    ————————————————-
    And fellows, Europe/Asia are continents.. not nations.
    By the way, the list does not include incidents from 2007…
    Again, we can keep invoking god and or “I love my guns” kind of stuff, but this numbers should be devastating for anyone whith just a bite left of common sense.
    I am just outrageous with this nonsense. Too much of a human price to admit.

    — Tim Price    Apr 17, 02:28 AM    #

49. Let this be a wake-up call for every administrator, faculty, staff, and maintenance member at every educational institution in this Country. A wake-up call to PLAN for the event that will never happen and then PRAY that such an event WILL NEVER happen. Be that event a natural disaster like Katrina, or one caused by man.

    First – let us pray for the victims, their familes, and all of the families associated with Virginia Tech including the federal, state, local police and emergency personnel who responded to the campus tragedy .

    Then – let us offer a prayer of thanksgiving for our personal safety and the safety of our loved ones.

    chuck p.

    — Charles F. Prettyman    Apr 17, 02:30 AM    #

50. i just wanted to comment on someones previous message earlier on. the weapons that the shooter used were very accessible and legal weapons. they were standard semi-automatic pistols. those could be found legally in Europe for sure and are not that hard to get at all. i dont think we need to be blaming the NRA for yesterdays incident or our constitution. It is very unfortunate and a horrific event. i know people who were killed at Virginia Tech. my prayers are with their families today and may God help all the rest of those effected for yestedays events

    — Theo Antonitis    Apr 17, 02:43 AM    #

51. Our thoughts and prayers should be focused on the loved ones, friends and families of the unfortunate students/faculty and staff in today’s tragedy….

    Before we pass judgement on the person who did the shooting, maybe we should wait until we find out if this person is here on a STUDENT VISA.
    It is so sad that all people of the world do not think as lovingly and warm as most Americans do. As a nation, we are very generous, loving and forgiving people but not all people in the world are in agreement with that philosophy. That’s why we need to become closer and stronger as Americans! God bless everyone!

    May you realize you live in the BEST country in the world!!! I agree, I love my country, my freedom and my right to choose!!!

    Now we MUST must pray for the victims, their families, and the VA Tech community. May God be with you all.

    — jenny    Apr 17, 03:48 AM    #

52. In response to this tragedy, I imagine that campus communities across the nation are dealing with shock and dismay. How can we move forward to keep the higher education learning environment open and inclusive, rather than having this divide us by reponses of fear and anger?.... I am wondering if anyone out there could briefly describe what they would like to see the university do in response to this crisis – specifically, for dealing with the ripple effects of emotions that will surface for students, families, faculty and staff on the VA Tech campus (and campuses across the country). Any thoughts?

    — dawn k stevenson    Apr 17, 07:51 AM    #

53. My prayers go out to everyone affected by this tragedy.

    I just want to know WHY. We’ve already discussed the issues of gun control, religion, violence, nationality, etc. That’s not the WHY I mean. On an individual level… WHY did this student do it? What was so wrong in his life that the shootings happened?

    — karen    Apr 17, 01:19 PM    #

54. The gunmans family most likely feels guilty that they raised and lived with a monster that changed so many peoples lives for the worst. And I hope that the family can provide somekind of information on what was wrong with Cho and I pray that we find more “Chos” before they create another day in history like yesterday.

    — Alexander    Apr 17, 04:47 PM    #

55. My deepest regrets.

    Remember that you hear about gun violence in the United States because of a free and unrestricted press. Other nations are able to supress their actual statistics regarding gun violence.

    This is a worldwide problem that is NOT solely based here in the U.S.

    Why cant we all just put the arguments aside and find a solution instead of arguing about the problem.

    — John    Apr 18, 02:10 AM    #

56. This is NOT unbelievable, anymore than 9/11 was unbelievable. Given the culture of male violence that men have created for the consumption of other men and boys, this is not surprising or unbelievable in the least. For anyone who works on domestic violence issues, sexual assault and rape issues, stalking and bullying issues, and understands the culture of sexism and misogyny that prevails in our society, this is not at all “unbelievable.” And when almost every single talking head, commentator, and so-called expert cannot even utter the words male, men, and boys in connection with this massacre, it is all too common an example of ignoring the basic problem. Wake up people..all the rape shelters, women’s shelters and all the hotlines exist precisely because men are committing almost all the violence against women. What’s equally true is that it’s mostly men who are committing violence against other men. If we can’t honestly speak about the problem, and name it, we’ll never find the solution. The sad thing is that there simply is too much money to be made in promoting violence for the patriarchy (news media, tv, radio, video games, movies, sports, “pro” wrestling, advertising, pornography, even music) to honestly address the reality of the culture of male violence.
    Margaret Mead warned us: “No society that feeds its children on tales of successful violence can expect them not to believe that violence in the end is rewarded.”

    — Stephen McArthur    Apr 23, 07:43 AM    #

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