Gunman shot people in a dorm, second building; suspect among dead

BREAKING NEWS
NBC News and news services
Updated: 2 minutes ago
BLACKSBURG, Va. - A gunman opened fire in a dorm and classroom at Virginia Tech on Monday, killing at least 21 people in the deadliest campus shooting in U.S. history. The gunman also was killed and some officials expected the death toll to be even higher given that several dozen others were also shot.



“Today the university was struck with a tragedy that we consider of monumental proportions,” said Virginia Tech president Charles Steger. “The university is shocked and indeed horrified.”

The shootings spread panic and confusion on campus, with witnesses reporting students jumping out the windows of a classroom building to escape the gunfire.

The university reported shootings at opposite sides of the 2,600-acre campus, beginning at about 7:15 a.m. at West Ambler Johnston, a co-ed residence hall that houses 895 people, and continuing about two hours later at Norris Hall, an engineering building.

Police said they were still investigating the shooting at the dorm — and the campus was under lockdown, with students to stay indoors and away from the windows — when authorities got word of gunfire at the classroom building.

Some but not all the dead were students. One student was killed in a dorm and the others were killed in the classroom, said Virginia Tech Police Chief W.R. Flinchum.

The name of the gunman was not released. It was not known if he was a student.

No terrorism evidence
FBI spokesman Richard Kolko in Washington said there was no immediate evidence to suggest it was a terrorist attack, “but all avenues will be explored.”

NBC's Pete Williams said two law enforcement officials told him the gunman killed himself. They also said the gunman used two 9-mm handguns during the rampage, Williams reported. He said the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms was trying to track the weapons.


Up until Monday, the deadliest campus shooting in U.S. history took place in 1966 at the University of Texas, where Charles Whitman climbed to the 28th-floor observation deck of a clock tower and opened fire. He killed 16 people before he was gunned down by police. In the Columbine High bloodbath near Littleton, Colo., in 1999, two teenagers killed 12 fellow students and a teacher before taking their own lives.

After Monday’s shootings at Virginia Tech, all entrances to the campus were closed.

The university set up a meeting place for families to reunite with their children at the Inn at Virginia Tech. It also made counselors available and planned a convocation for Tuesday at the Cassell Coliseum basketball arena.

After the shootings, students were told to stay inside away from the windows.

“There’s just a lot of commotion. It’s hard to tell exactly what’s going on,” said Jason Anthony Smith, 19, who lives in the dorm where shooting took place.




Aimee Kanode, a freshman from Martinsville, said the shooting happened on the 4th floor of West Ambler Johnston dormitory, one floor above her room. Kanode’s resident assistant knocked on her door about 8 a.m. to notify students to stay put.

“They had us under lockdown,” Kanode said. “They temporarily lifted the lockdown, the gunman shot again.”

“We’re all locked in our dorms surfing the Internet trying to figure out what’s going on,” Kanode said.


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Bomb threats last two weeks
Police said there had been bomb threats on campus over the past two weeks but they had not determined a link to the shootings.

A White House spokesman said President Bush was horrified by the rampage and offered his prayers to the victims and the people of Virginia.

“The president believes that there is a right for people to bear arms, but that all laws must be followed,” spokeswoman Dana Perino said.

It was second time in less than a year that the campus was closed because of a shooting.

In August 2006, the opening day of classes was canceled and the campus closed when an escaped jail inmate allegedly killed a hospital guard off campus and fled to the Tech area. A sheriff’s deputy involved in the manhunt was killed on a trail just off campus.

The accused gunman, William Morva, faces capital murder charges.

The deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history was in Killeen, Texas, in 1991, when George Hennard drove his pickup into a Luby’s Cafeteria and shot 23 people to death, then himself.

[Edited title to reflect victims' and shooter's death - June7]

I tuned to CNN. This is awful.


M

The death toll is up to 32 now -- and expected to rise.

CNN just ruined it. BUSH is going to say something. Ughhh!

M

omg

How sad. My and go out to all involved and touched by this horrible act of carnage.

This is absolutely awful. I wish these stupid jackasses would just kill themselves first and spare everyone else the grief. So so sad

omfg.....I was at that campus once in 1995.....this is terrible!

Make that 32.

The death toll has risen as of 2:30pm Eastern according to Associated Press and various national news outlets.

A very sad day.

It's all very depressing.

sometimes i wonder what effect mentioning anniversarys of other shootings has.


positive energy to those that are fighting for their lives.

a2grafix said:

This is unreal.

omg.

I know guns could be used for good things--defending your family or whatever--but have they ever been used for anything good?

When I got in the car this morning, all I heard was "Polytechnic University shooting!" My son is a senior at California Polytechnic University in San Luis Obispo. My heart died for half a second, until I started calling around
It breaks my heart for the families involved and for our nation in general.

NOt too far away from my old hometown.

This sucks.

what the FUCK?!?!?!?!

34 dead now. I just heard this. How awful. Universities seem to be such a wonderful haven of academia and growth. Invading that really gets into my psyche, as I teach at a university.

31 dead now i read

i go to tech, and all i can say is wow

missmad said:

I think I just read 32. Many got injured jumping from the building, I think.

live4lust said:

I just heard a total of 34:

31 at the engineering building
2 at the dorm
1 gunman

july said:

Actually, I think it IS 33. The gunman is included in the 31 dead at the engineering building.

Awful news...