Atlantis Online
March 28, 2024, 12:36:25 pm
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
News: ARE Search For Atlantis 2007 Results
http://mysterious-america.net/bermudatriangle0.html
 
  Home Help Arcade Gallery Links Staff List Calendar Login Register  

Virginia Tech Rampage

Pages: [1] 2   Go Down
  Print  
Author Topic: Virginia Tech Rampage  (Read 492 times)
0 Members and 61 Guests are viewing this topic.
Kristina
Superhero Member
******
Posts: 4558



« on: April 16, 2007, 12:20:55 pm »

virginia tech rampage



Police: At least 22 killed

At least 22 people were killed in two incidents when a lone gunman opened fire on the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg on Monday, police said. Police said they believed the shooter was among the dead. Tech President Charles Steger called the shootings "a tragedy of monumental proportions."

Chief: At least 20 dead in campus shootings
POSTED: 12:49 p.m. EDT, April 16, 2007
Story Highlights• NEW: Police chief says at least 20 people are dead, some of them students
• University reporting that a suspected shooter is in custody, another sought
• AP: 1 dead, 1 wounded in first reported shooting on Virginia Tech campus
• Student describes situation as "mayhem"; says 2 students jumped from window



The West Ambler Johnston Hall is a co-ed dormitory that houses 895 students.


(CNN) -- The Virginia Tech police chief said at least 20 people were killed in twin shootings on the Blacksburg campus Monday morning.

"Some victims were shot in a classroom," Chief Wendell Flinchum said, adding that the gunman was dead.

"Today the university was struck with a tragedy that we consider of monumental proportions," said university President Charles Steger. "The university is shocked and indeed horrified." (Map of Blacksburg)

The attacks mark the worst school shooting incident since 1999 when Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris killed 12 students and a teacher before killing themselves at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado.

A hospital spokeswoman told The Associated Press that 17 Virginia Tech students were being treated for gunshot wounds and other injuries.

Sharon Honaker at the Carilion New River Valley Medical Center told CNN that four patients had been transported there, one in critical condition.

One person was killed and others were wounded at multiple locations inside a dormitory about 7:15 a.m., Flinchum said. Two hours later, another shooting at Norris Hall, the engineering science and mechanics building, resulted in multiple casualties, the university reported. (Watch police, ambulances hustle to the scene )

The first reported shooting occurred at West Ambler Johnston Hall, a co-ed dormitory that houses 895 students. The dormitory, one of the largest residence halls on the 2,600-acre campus, is located near the drill field and stadium.

Amie Steele, editor-in-chief of the campus newspaper, said one of her reporters at the dormitory reported "mass chaos."

The reporter said there were "lots of students running around, going crazy, and the police officers were trying to settle everyone down and keep everything under control," according to Steele.

Kristyn Heiser said she was in class about 9:30 a.m. when she and her classmates saw about six gun-wielding police officers run by a window.

"We were like, 'What's going on?' Because this definitely is a quaint town where stuff doesn't really happen. It's pretty boring here," said Heiser during a phone interview as she sat on her classroom floor.

Student Matt Waldron said he did not hear the gunshots because he was listening to music, but he heard police sirens and saw officers hiding behind trees with their guns drawn.

"They told us to get out of there so we ran across the drill field as quick as we could," he said.

Waldron described the scene on campus as "mayhem." (Watch a student's recording of police responding to loud bangs )

"It was kind of scary," he said. "These two kids I guess had panicked and jumped out of the top story window and the one kid broke his ankle and the other girl was not in good shape just lying on the ground."

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.

The university is updating its 26,000 students through e-mails, and an Internet webcam is broadcasting live pictures of the campus.

The shootings came three days after a bomb threat Friday forced the cancellation of classes in three buildings, WDBJ in Roanoke reported. Also, the 100,000-square-foot Torgersen Hall was evacuated April 2 after police received a written bomb threat, The Roanoke Times reported.

After the Monday shootings, students were instructed to stay indoors and away from windows, police at the university said.

"A gunman is loose on campus. Stay in buildings until further notice. Stay away from all windows," read a warning from the university.

"Virginia Tech has canceled all classes. Those on campus are asked to remain where they are, lock their doors and stay away from windows. Persons off campus are asked not to come to campus," a statement on the university Web site said.

Copyright 2007 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/04/16/vtech.shooting/index.html

Report Spam   Logged

"Nothing gives one person so much advantage over another as to remain always cool and unruffled under all circumstances."

Thomas Jefferson

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Aphrodite
Administrator
Superhero Member
*****
Posts: 4607



« Reply #1 on: April 17, 2007, 12:53:14 am »

I thought that the students dealt with this affar quite bravely.  Of all the footage I have been watching of this all day long, I saw no tears.

I would like to think that, when my time comes, I will meet my own end just as courageously.
Report Spam   Logged

"He who controls others maybe powerful, but he who has mastered himself is mightier still.” - Lao Tsu
Aristotle
Superhero Member
******
Posts: 4553



« Reply #2 on: April 17, 2007, 01:18:07 am »

When Colombine happened, I'll admit I was shocked. Two years later, when 9/11 occurred, I thought that nothing would ever equal the scope of that tragedy in my lifetime - on that, I am probably right.

Since then, we have seen the Colomibia disaster, countless deaths in Iraq, the London subway bombings, the attacks in Madrid, even this school year started with a rash a school shootings, even the Amish were attacked at one point.

Terrible as this is, I'm afraid that I no longer find such events "shocking."  In fact, I have come to expect such things from people. Even the news coverage seems to be removed from excessive displays of emotion over it this time.
Report Spam   Logged

"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."
- Aristotle
cydonia
Full Member
***
Posts: 34



« Reply #3 on: April 17, 2007, 01:40:30 am »

Aphrodite, I'd like to agree with you...from what I have seen, the General Population of the school seems to be handling it alright. Which is a tribute to them. Now let's hope they don't make it worse for them in the coming days and weeks (and by them I mean the Media, and the phalanx of "grief counselors that are even now descending upon them like vultures).

One thing I heard in a report, and I don't know yet if it is true, but it was said that a classroom full of students were killed "execution style", which usually means dropped to your knees and a slug to the back of your dome. Now if that is true, that means at least double digit young people did what I've taught my son NOT to do since Columbine, and that is die on your knees, submitting. I have told him, and my nephew (whom I also raise now) that if you are in a situation where doing nothing means your death, then die as you lived. On your feet. As your signature implies, mastery over oneself means mastery over others. If you KNOW you're going to die if you do nothing, then do your very best and do something. Anything. In that situation, you need to put your mind into that place where you believe no one is coming to save you, and you have nothing whatsoever to lose by acting yourself. So Act.

Another thing that should be taught to young people (by their parents, ideally) is the difference between "Cover" and "concealment". Those are two different things. Two very different things.

My son carries a small pocketknife (blade about 4 inches, but sharp) in his pocket almost all the time(even at school, where its not exactly welcomed). The idea being that it can come in handy (he knows his basic boy scout s***), but also that when your life is threatened, really truly threatened, cutting people is a good way to get them to stop hurting you. Barbaric, maybe. But no less true. Cut people enough, slice and slash their skin, and they'll change their tune. And you might have a chance of going home again. I don't want him to be a victim or a sheep. He's also a very good shot, with both handgun and long gun. And lucky me, he's a football player who loves to run and work out. So he's fit. And I've taught him his whole life that when it comes to a physical confrontation, don't do what your teachers or even your mother might tell you and walk away, but, if there is no escaping the fight, then go forward with as much agression as you have, hurt them as much as can as quick as you can, and end it on your terms. Strike first, strike fast, strike to end it.

Hopefully those lessons, along with teaching him to be a compassionate and loving boy, will make him a good and decent, but dangerous, young man. And will keep him alive.

Now go ahead everyone and tell me how I've been a bad father. Even though he's only been in two fights in his fifteen years, neither of which he provoked, has never hurt another person, never bullied anyone, takes care of his sister and his cousins, and is the most thoughtful and caring kid I've ever had the priviledge of being around. Being taught to physically defend yourself and others against harm doesn't make one a menace. It makes you a survivor. and a protector.
« Last Edit: April 17, 2007, 01:44:30 am by cydonia » Report Spam   Logged
cydonia
Full Member
***
Posts: 34



« Reply #4 on: April 17, 2007, 01:58:33 am »

From the Latin si vis pacem, para bellum: if you want peace, prepare for war.
Report Spam   Logged
Aristotle
Superhero Member
******
Posts: 4553



« Reply #5 on: April 17, 2007, 02:19:49 am »

I'd have to say it sounds like you made a good father, Cydonia.  People always talk of the virtues of peace over conflict, but, in a real world, one has to be prepared for the conflict in order to have peace.  It is a real world we live in, after all, not an idealistic one.  A person has to have one foot in the ideals he lives his life by and one in the pragmatism he has to use in order to achieve them.
Report Spam   Logged

"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."
- Aristotle
cydonia
Full Member
***
Posts: 34



« Reply #6 on: April 17, 2007, 02:56:20 am »

Thank you, Aristotle. That means a lot. I tried to raise him well, to love life and have fun and be a child for as long as he possibly could be. It was my thought that our society seems to cut short a kids childhood, his innocence, and it was my duty as father to try and protect that for as long as possible, without stunting his emotional and intellectual growth as a person at the same time. I think my ex-wife and I did a fantastic job. Our son is phenomenal when it comes to interacting with his siblings, his cousins, his friends. Hell when he was younger he would protect and stand up for the kids in our neighborhood who were the "nerds" or "dorks" or the kids who were picked on incessantly. He was the kid who stood up to the bullies and made them stand down.

If it sounds like I'm proud of him, and love him to death, its becaue I am and I do.

But he also has a ferocious mean streak when provoked, and isn't afraid to stand up for what he believes is right. Aggressively. He backed some kids down not too long ago (through words and body language) who were making fun of his 21 year old cousin (he's 15, and loves his older cousin to death). They were making fun of her because she's a lesbian, and lives with her girlfriend and her girlfreinds child. Apparently that is funny to kids. But it wasnt to him. And he shut them up.

I think he's going to be an exceptional man, as he's well on his way. I also think that he will do his best to protect himself, as well as others. And I only wish that everyone raised their kids to give a s*** like that.

And if at least every 15th kid was raised this way, and carried a hidden piece, bad guys would get shot in the head by their enemies, rather than taking the easy way out by killing themselves. Wink Smiley
« Last Edit: April 17, 2007, 03:19:35 am by cydonia » Report Spam   Logged
Volitzer
Superhero Member
******
Posts: 11110



« Reply #7 on: April 17, 2007, 08:28:01 am »

Aphrodite, I'd like to agree with you...from what I have seen, the General Population of the school seems to be handling it alright. Which is a tribute to them. Now let's hope they don't make it worse for them in the coming days and weeks (and by them I mean the Media, and the phalanx of "grief counselors that are even now descending upon them like vultures).

One thing I heard in a report, and I don't know yet if it is true, but it was said that a classroom full of students were killed "execution style", which usually means dropped to your knees and a slug to the back of your dome. Now if that is true, that means at least double digit young people did what I've taught my son NOT to do since Columbine, and that is die on your knees, submitting. I have told him, and my nephew (whom I also raise now) that if you are in a situation where doing nothing means your death, then die as you lived. On your feet. As your signature implies, mastery over oneself means mastery over others. If you KNOW you're going to die if you do nothing, then do your very best and do something. Anything. In that situation, you need to put your mind into that place where you believe no one is coming to save you, and you have nothing whatsoever to lose by acting yourself. So Act.

Another thing that should be taught to young people (by their parents, ideally) is the difference between "Cover" and "concealment". Those are two different things. Two very different things.

My son carries a small pocketknife (blade about 4 inches, but sharp) in his pocket almost all the time(even at school, where its not exactly welcomed). The idea being that it can come in handy (he knows his basic boy scout s***), but also that when your life is threatened, really truly threatened, cutting people is a good way to get them to stop hurting you. Barbaric, maybe. But no less true. Cut people enough, slice and slash their skin, and they'll change their tune. And you might have a chance of going home again. I don't want him to be a victim or a sheep. He's also a very good shot, with both handgun and long gun. And lucky me, he's a football player who loves to run and work out. So he's fit. And I've taught him his whole life that when it comes to a physical confrontation, don't do what your teachers or even your mother might tell you and walk away, but, if there is no escaping the fight, then go forward with as much agression as you have, hurt them as much as can as quick as you can, and end it on your terms. Strike first, strike fast, strike to end it.

Hopefully those lessons, along with teaching him to be a compassionate and loving boy, will make him a good and decent, but dangerous, young man. And will keep him alive.

Now go ahead everyone and tell me how I've been a bad father. Even though he's only been in two fights in his fifteen years, neither of which he provoked, has never hurt another person, never bullied anyone, takes care of his sister and his cousins, and is the most thoughtful and caring kid I've ever had the priviledge of being around. Being taught to physically defend yourself and others against harm doesn't make one a menace. It makes you a survivor. and a protector.

Spoken with a Klingon sense of honor.  Finally something we can both agree on.   Smiley
« Last Edit: April 17, 2007, 08:52:54 am by Volitzer » Report Spam   Logged
Volitzer
Superhero Member
******
Posts: 11110



« Reply #8 on: April 17, 2007, 08:56:08 am »

The dude was here on a Chinese visa.  Maybe there was a frat that was getting wise to Chi-Commie guerillanomics and the Chinese had to send an assassin to eliminate a Fair-Trade movent.  In the end he was to eliminate himself to free him up from any interrogation.

The don't call them Chi-Commie-Kazis for nothing.  Cheesy Cheesy Cheesy
« Last Edit: April 18, 2007, 10:46:00 am by Volitzer » Report Spam   Logged
Kristina
Superhero Member
******
Posts: 4558



« Reply #9 on: April 17, 2007, 09:03:59 am »

gunman 'one of our students'


Virginia Tech shooter identified

Gunman identified as Cho Seung-hui, a 23-year-old English major from South Korea
Ballistics tests show one of the guns found was used in the dorm and classroom building shootings
"The injuries were just amazing," doctor says




An injured person is carried out of Norris Hall. The gunman killed 30 people there before taking his own life.
VICTIMS TAKEN TO HOSPITALSMontgomery Regional Hospital

Treated 17 patients

•1 pronounced dead on arrival

•3 in critical condition

•6 in stable condition


•5 discharged

•2 transferred to other facilities

Lewis-Gale Medical Center

Treated 5 patients

•2 discharged.


•3 in stable condition; 1 underwent surgery

INFORMATION• Concerned parents should call the dean of students' office at 540-231-3787.
• Anyone with information about the shootings should call the Virginia Tech Police Department at 540-232-8477.


Police name Virginia Tech shooter
POSTED: 9:47 a.m. EDT, April 17, 2007
Story Highlights• NEW: Police ID shooter as 23-year-old resident alien, English major
• At least two professors among the dead in Virginia Tech massacre
• Police have preliminary identification of campus gunman
• University officials say 33 dead, including gunman

Adjust font size:
BLACKSBURG, Virginia (CNN) -- Police identified the gunman who killed 32 people on the Virginia Tech campus before turning the gun on himself as student Cho Seung-Hui, university police Chief Wendell Flinchum said Tuesday.

The 23-year-old South Korean and resident alien lived at the university's Harper Hall, Flinchum said. He was an English major, the chief said.

Flinchum said ballistics tests showed that one of the two guns recovered at Norris Hall, where 30 people and the gunman died, was used in the Norris shooting and an earlier shooting at a dormitory that left two dead.

The university and police are still in the process of releasing the names of the 32 people killed in Monday's shootings. (Watch how some are asking why warnings weren't issued sooner )

A doctor at a Blacksburg hospital described the injuries he saw Monday as "amazing" and the shooter as "brutal."

"There wasn't a shooting victim that didn't have less than three bullet wounds in them," said Dr. Joseph Cacioppo of Montgomery Regional Hospital.

Even among the less serious injuries, Cacioppo said, "we saw one patient that had a bullet wound to the wrist, one to the elbow and one to the thigh. We had another one with a bullet wound to the abdomen, one to the chest and one to the head."

A law enforcement source close to the investigation said a .22-caliber handgun and a 9 mm handgun were recovered at the scene. (Watch how quickly these guns can be fired, reloaded )

Details surface
The day's first shooting, at the West Ambler Johnston dormitory, which houses 895 students, occurred about 7:15 a.m.

At the time of the later shootings at Norris Hall, police were investigating a "person of interest" in the dormitory shootings, Flinchum said Monday.

During the Tuesday news conference, Flinchum said the person of interest was an acquaintance of a woman killed at the dorm.

Col. Steven Flaherty of the Virginia State Police said authorities were still investigating whether Cho had any accomplices in planning or executing Monday's rampage.

Steger told reporters Monday that police found the front doors of Norris Hall chained shut and that by the time they got to the second floor, the gunfire stopped.

Authorities say they believed the dorm shooting was an "isolated incident" and were still investigating it when the slaughter occurred at the other campus building, Norris Hall. (Officials thought shooter had fled)

The gunman killed 31 people, including himself, and wounded 15 in Norris Hall classrooms.

Steger: Police thought dorm shooting was isolated
Steger on Tuesday defended the university response to the dorm shooting, saying police believed it to be "a domestic fight, perhaps a murder-suicide" that was contained to one dorm room. (Watch the police chief explain where bodies were found )

Police cordoned off the dorm and all residents were told about the shooting as police looked for witnesses, Steger said.

"I don't think anyone could have predicted that another event was going to take place two hours later," Steger said, adding that it would've been difficult to warn every student because most were off campus at the time. (Watch a student's recording of police responding to loud bangs )

The gunman was dressed "almost like a Boy Scout" and wore a black ammunition vest, said a student who survived by pretending to lie dead on a classroom floor.

"He just stepped within five feet of the door and just started firing," said Erin Sheehan. "He seemed very thorough about it, getting almost everyone down, I pretended to be dead." (Watch student describe surviving by playing dead )

The shooter, who remained quiet throughout the rampage, came back 30 seconds after the first round of gunfire and Sheehan and her classmates tried to barricade the door with their bodies, she said.

After the shooter couldn't get in, he began firing through the door, Sheehan said. Of the 25 students in her German class, Sheehan was one of four able to walk out on her own when police arrived. (Watch students react to shooting )

Victims' identities being released
Courtney Dalton, an 18-year-old student who worked at West End Dining Hall, said a friend named Ryan Clark was one of the two dormitory victims.

Clark, a resident assistant at West Ambler Johnston Hall, had once worked at the cafeteria serving pizza. Sobbing, she described Clark "a happy person."

As of early Tuesday, the identities of four other victims had been released:


G.V. Loganathan, a professor of civil and environmental engineering


Liviu Librescu, a professor of engineering science and mechanics


Ross Alameddine, a student from Saugus, Massachusetts


Matthew La Porte, student, Dumont, New Jersey

The university has scheduled a convocation for 2 p.m. ET Tuesday. President Bush is scheduled to attend.

Classes have been canceled for the rest of the week, and Norris Hall will be closed for the remainder of the semester, Steger said.

There have been two bomb threats at the university this month, the latest of which came Friday. Flinchum said Tuesday they were unrelated to the shootings. (Watch gunfire on the campus )

Last August, the first day of class was cut short at Virginia Tech by a manhunt for an escaped prisoner accused of killing a Blacksburg hospital security guard and a sheriff's deputy.

Before Monday, the deadliest mass shooting in the United States occurred in 1991, when George Hennard drove a pickup truck into a Killeen, Texas, cafeteria and fatally shot 23 people, before shooting and killing himself.


http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/04/17/vtech.shooting/index.html
Report Spam   Logged

"Nothing gives one person so much advantage over another as to remain always cool and unruffled under all circumstances."

Thomas Jefferson
Kristina
Superhero Member
******
Posts: 4558



« Reply #10 on: April 17, 2007, 03:05:02 pm »

victims remembered
DEVELOPING STORY




A chance to grieve at a memorial service today.

A chance to grieve at a memorial service today.Student shooter identified as loner

Gunman identified as Cho Seung-hui, a 23-year-old English major from South Korea
Note left by Cho rails against "rich kids" and "deceitful charlatans," Chicago Tribune reports
Cho called a loner by university official
Police: Victims found in four classrooms, stairwell




Cho Seung-hui, who police say is responsible for most of Monday's shootings, was a loner, according to a university official.

Police: Virginia Tech shooter an English major, 23POSTED: 3:26 p.m. EDT, April 17, 2007
Story Highlights• NEW: "Macabre" writings surface; Cho caused concern among teachers previously
• Police ID shooter as 23-year-old resident alien, English major
• Police say one of the guns recovered was used in both shooting incidents
• Officials: 33 dead, including gunman, in Norris Hall and dormitory shootings


BLACKSBURG, Virginia (CNN) -- The 23-year-old English major accused of exacting a bloody rampage at Virginia Tech authored two plays so "twisted" that his classmates suspected he might be a school shooter before they knew for sure, a student said.

Ian McFarland, who said he had class with suspected shooter Cho Seung-hui, called the plays "very graphic" and "extremely disturbing."

McFarland is an employee of America Online, which has provided the writings to CNN.

"It was like something out of a nightmare," McFarland wrote in a blog. "The plays had really twisted, macabre violence that used weapons I wouldn't have even thought of.

"Before Cho got to class that day, we students were talking to each other with serious worry about whether he could be a school shooter."

A university official also said that Cho scribed writings so "disturbing" they were sent to administrators, a university official said Tuesday.

The official did not provide details about the writings, which first came to the attention of faculty in the English department, but said they were passed on to the department chairwoman and university administrators.

Cho left a long and vitriolic note in his dorm room, law enforcement sources told ABC News. It contained an explanation of his actions and states, "You caused me to do this," ABC News reported.

It also railed against "rich kids," "debauchery" and "deceitful charlatans" on campus, according to the Chicago Tribune.

University officials said they were still trying to determine whether Cho was responsible for a shooting earlier Monday that left two dead at a dormitory.

However, Flinchum said ballistics tests show that one of the two guns recovered at Norris Hall was used at Norris and at the dorm, both located on the 26,000-student campus. (Watch police disclose new information about the shooter )

Authorities are still investigating whether Cho had any accomplices in planning or executing Monday's rampage, Col. Steven Flaherty of the Virginia State Police said.

"It certainly is reasonable for us to assume that Cho was the shooter in both places, but we don't have the evidence to take us there at this particular point in time," Flaherty said.

Cho, a 23-year-old South Korean and resident alien, was an English major who lived at the university's Harper Hall, Flinchum said. (Shooter's profile)

"He was a loner, and we're having difficulty finding information about him," said Larry Hincker, associate vice president for university relations.

Cho came to the United States in 1992, through Detroit, Michigan, a department of Homeland Security official said. He had lawful permanent residence, via his parents, and renewed his green card in October 2003, the official said.

His residence was listed as Centreville, Virginia, a suburb of Washington, D.C.

The university and police are still in the process of releasing the names of those killed in Monday's shootings. (Watch how some are asking why warnings weren't issued sooner )

"What went on during that incident certainly caused tremendous chaos and panic in Norris Hall," Flaherty said, describing how victims were found in four classrooms and in the stairwell of the school's engineering science and mechanics building.

Doctor recalls 'amazing' injuries
A doctor at a Blacksburg hospital described the injuries he saw Monday as "amazing" and the shooter as "brutal."

"There wasn't a shooting victim that didn't have less than three bullet wounds in them," said Dr. Joseph Cacioppo of Montgomery Regional Hospital. (Full story)

A source familiar with the investigation said the weapons found at Norris were a Walther .22-caliber semi-automatic and a 9 mm Glock -- both with the serial numbers filed off. (Watch how quickly these guns can be fired, reloaded )

As questions continued to arise about how police reacted to the first shooting at the dorm, university President Charles Steger on Tuesday defended the response, saying police believed it to be "a domestic fight, perhaps a murder-suicide" that was contained to one dorm room.

Police cordoned off the 895-student West Ambler Johnston dorm and all residents were told about the shooting as police looked for witnesses, Steger said.

Authorities were still investigating what they believed was an "isolated incident" when the slaughter occurred at Norris Hall.

"I don't think anyone could have predicted that another event was going to take place two hours later," Steger said, adding that it would've been difficult to warn every student because most were off campus at the time. (Watch a student's recording of police responding to loud bangs )

Steger told reporters Monday that when police responded to Norris Hall they found the front doors chained shut. The gunfire had stopped by the time they reached the second floor, he said.

The gunman killed 31 people, including himself, and wounded 15 in Norris Hall classrooms.

Student heard clip drop to ground
Zach Petkewicz was in class when the shooting at Norris began and "everyone went into a frenzy, a panic." Petkewicz was hiding behind a podium when he realized there was nothing preventing the shooter from entering the classroom and barked to his classmates, "We need to barricade this door." (Watch how Petkewicz's quick thinking may have saved lives )

Two students joined him in throwing tables against the door and wedging their weight behind them, just as the gunman cracked open the door.

When the students slammed the door in his face, "he backed up and shot twice into the middle of the door thinking we were up against it," Petkewicz said.

"I was up against the side holding this desk up against there and I just heard his clip drop to the ground and he reloaded, and I thought he was coming back for a second round, to try and get his way in there," he said. "He didn't say a word, and he just turned and kept firing down the hall and didn't try to get back in." (Watch student describe surviving by playing dead )

As of midday Tuesday, officials were still releasing the names of those killed, which include a marching band member from Georgia and an Israeli Holocaust survivor who headed the engineering and science department. (Full story)

Classes have been canceled for the rest of the week, and Norris Hall will be closed for the remainder of the semester, Steger said. Student Emily Alderman said students were sending out instant messages urging each other to wear their Virginia Tech Hokie gear in a sign of unity.

There have been two bomb threats at the university this month, the latest of which came Friday. Flinchum said Tuesday they were unrelated to the shootings. (Watch images a student captured through his dorm room peephole )

Last August, the first day of class was cut short at Virginia Tech by a manhunt for an escaped prisoner accused of killing a Blacksburg hospital security guard and a sheriff's deputy.

Before Monday, the deadliest mass shooting in the United States occurred in 1991, when George Hennard drove a pickup truck into a Killeen, Texas, cafeteria and fatally shot 23 people, before shooting and killing himself.


http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/04/17/vtech.shooting/index.html


Report Spam   Logged

"Nothing gives one person so much advantage over another as to remain always cool and unruffled under all circumstances."

Thomas Jefferson
Kristina
Superhero Member
******
Posts: 4558



« Reply #11 on: April 17, 2007, 03:10:56 pm »

 
Bandsman, Holocaust survivor killed at Virginia Tech
POSTED: 3:17 p.m. EDT, April 17, 2007
Story Highlights• Students, teaching staff among the dead on the Virginia Tech campus
• Gunman killed 30 people, then himself in Norris Hall
• Two others killed in dormitory earlier

(CNN) -- The victims came to Virginia Tech from different backgrounds and different continents.

Officials have begun to release the names of the 32 people shot and killed by a student on the college campus in Blacksburg, Virginia on Monday.

These are profiles of the victims, accompanied by thoughts and memories shared by those who knew them, some of which have been edited for length and clarity.

 

Ross Alameddine, 20, was a student from Saugus, Massachusetts. The sophomore English major was shot during French class, a family friend told The Associated Press. A Facebook page created in Alameddine's remembrance called him "an intelligent, funny, easygoing guy who will be greatly missed."

Jake Valentine of Cincinnati, Ohio, wrote:
"I only went to high school with Ross for two years before we moved. We had 10th grade chemistry together, among other things, such as shooting the breeze before classes and at lunch. He'd always make class enjoyable with his humor, which even the teacher would acknowledge. There wasn't a mean bone in his body. He was one of the nicest, wittiest people you'll ever know. What strikes out most about him is that his Facebook status will always let people know how selfless he was. His last day started wishing one of his friends a happy birthday. He will be truly missed by all."

Christopher James Bishop, 35, taught German at Virginia Tech and helped oversee an exchange program with a German university. Bishop decided which German-language students at Virginia Tech could attend the Darmstadt University of Technology to improve their German. "He would teach them German in Blacksburg, and he would decide which students were able to study" abroad, Darmstadt spokesman Lars Rosumek said. The school set up a book of condolences for students, staff and faculty to sign, along with information about the Virginia shootings. "Of course many persons knew him personally and are deeply, deeply shocked about his death," Rosumek said. Bishop earned bachelor's and master's degrees in German and was a Fulbright scholar at Christian-Albrechts University in Kiel, Germany. According to his Web site, Bishop spent four years living in Germany, where he "spent most of his time learning the language, teaching English, drinking large quantities of wheat beer, and wooing a certain fraulein." The "fraulein" was Bishop's wife, Stephanie Hofer, who also teaches in Virginia Tech's German program.

Tom Smither of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, wrote:
"Christopher "Jamie" Bishop worked with us in the foreign language department at the University of North Carolina for a couple of years, and he was deeply loved by all of us here. We were saddened by his leaving us to go to Virginia Tech. We are absolutely devastated by his untimely death. He will be missed on this earth. God bless his soul and look after his lovely wife, Stephanie."



 
Ryan Clark, 22, was known as "Stack" to his friends in the Marching Virginians college band. The Virginia Tech senior came from Martinez in Georgia and was a "true example of 'The Spirit Of Tech'," according to a message posted on the band's Web site. He majored in biology and English, and carried a 4.0 grade-point average, according to the coroner in Columbia County, Georgia. Clark was a resident assistant at West Ambler Johnston Hall, the dormitory where he and another person were shot dead at 7:15 a.m. Monday. He had been planning to pursue a PhD in psychology with a focus in cognitive neuroscience, according to the Marching Virginians Web site. ( Watch what Clark's twin brother and sister said about their grief  )

Arielle Perlmutter of Buford, Georgia, wrote:
"I worked with Ryan Clark at Camp Big Heart where we both spent part of our summers counseling kids and adults with special needs. At camp, Ryan was one of my closest friends. We had many inside jokes and spent a lot of time being silly and laughing. Ryan never had a frown on his face and even when something was bothering him he was only upset for a short time and moved back to his good old happy self. Ryan ran the dance/music program at camp and was constantly moving, singing and entertaining both the staff and campers. Ryan was very happy himself and was always working to make others happy. Camp Big Heart will never be the same without him and our camp community will bear the scars of the loss for many years to come. Ryan was a gift in the lives of people who met him. He will be missed forever."

Daniel Perez Cueva, 21, from Peru, was killed while in a French class, said his mother, Betty Cueva. Perez Cuevas was a student of international relations, according to the Virginia Tech Web site. His father, Flavio Perez, spoke of the death earlier to RPP radio in Peru. He lives in Peru and said he was trying to obtain a humanitarian visa from the U.S. consulate here. He is separated from Cueva, who said she had lived in the United States for six years. A spokesman at the U.S. Embassy in Lima said the student's father "will receive all the attention possible when he applies" for the visa.

Caitlin Hammaren, 19, of Westtown, New York, was a sophomore majoring in international studies and French, according to officials at her former school district. "She was just one of the most outstanding young individuals that I've had the privilege of working with in my 31 years as an educator," said John P. Latini, principal of Minisink Valley High School, where she graduated in 2005. "Caitlin was a leader among our students." Minisink Valley students and teachers shared their grief Tuesday at a counseling center set up in the school, Latini said.

 

Kevin Granata, age unknown, was one of the top five biomechanics researchers in the country working on movement dynamics in cerebral palsy, the head of Engineering Science and Mechanics Department at Virginia Tech said in an e-mail to The Associated Press. He served in the military and conducted orthopedic research in hospitals before coming to Virginia Tech, according to AP. Granata's academic career included stints at the Johns Hopkins University, Ohio State University, University of Virginia and Wake Forest University. "With so many research projects and graduate students, he still found time to spend with his family, and he coached his children in many sports and extracurricular activities," engineering professor Demetri P. Telionis told AP.

Emily Jane Hilscher, 19, a freshman majoring in animal and poultry sciences, was known around her hometown as an animal lover. "She worked at a veterinarian's office and cared about them her whole life," said Rappahannock County Administrator John W. McCarthy, a family friend. Hilscher, of Woodville, was a freshman majoring in animal and poultry sciences. She lived on the same dorm floor as victim Ryan Clark, McCarthy said. A friend, Will Nachless, also 19, said Hilscher "was always very friendly. Before I even knew her, I thought she was very outgoing, friendly and helpful, and she was great in chemistry."


 
Matthew La Porte, 20, of Dumont, New Jersey, was studying political science and French at Virginia Tech. He was also a member of the Corps of Cadets, the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets band, the Highty-Tighties and the U.S. Air Force ROTC, according to his MySpace page.




 
Liviu Librescu, 76, was a Holocaust survivor, who his son said, will be remembered as a hero. He "blocked the doorway with his body and asked the students to flee," Joe Librescu told AP. "Students started opening windows and jumping out." The elder Librescu, a professor at Virginia Tech, was recognized internationally for his research in aeronautical engineering, the head of the Engineering Science and Mechanics Department at Virginia Tech told AP. He was born and received his advanced degrees in Romania.

Professor Edward Smith of Penn State University wrote:
"Professor Librescu was well known in the aerospace engineering community. I have known professor Librescu for the past 18 years, ever since I was in graduate school. We attended the same annual conferences and working in the same research area (composite structures). He was a true gentleman. [He was] always very professional and 'formal,' dressed in a business suit and very serious about his work. Professor Librescu had a good sense of humor and had many friends in the aerospace community. We are all deeply saddened by this tragic loss."

 

G. V. Loganathan, 51, was a professor of civil and environmental engineering in the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech. Since coming to Virginia Tech in 1982, he earned the Outstanding Faculty Award, the Dean's Award for Excellence in Teaching and the Faculty Achievement Award for Excellence in Civil Engineering Education, according to his biography on the Virginia Tech Web site. Loganathan, of Tamil Nadu, India, lived with his wife and children on Virginia Tech's campus, according to the Times of India.

Ken Ying of Raleigh, North Carolina, wrote:
"Professor G.V. Loganathan was my professor when I was a graduate student in Virginia Tech. I worked with him for a research project and helped him with the computer lab management from 1985 to 1991. He was a kind and thoughtful gentleman. I always remember him for his elegant style and perfection in research and teaching. I learned a lot from him each time he gave me those helpful critiques on my works. It is a great loss of everyone from this tragedy. We just lost a great professor and a great friend. All my thoughts and prayers go out to his family. They just lost a great husband and a great father."

Mary Karen Read, 19, was born in South Korea into an Air Force family and lived in Texas and California before settling in the northern Virginia suburb of Annandale. Read considered a handful of colleges, including nearby George Mason University, before choosing Virginia Tech. It was a popular destination among her Annandale High School classmates, according to her aunt Karen Kuppinger. She had yet to declare a major. "I think she wanted to try to spread her wings," said Kuppinger. She said her niece had struggled in adjusting to Tech's sprawling 2,600-acre campus. But she had recently begun making friends and looking into a sorority. Kuppinger said the family started calling Read as news reports surfaced. "After three or four hours passed and she hadn't picked up her cell phone or answered her e-mail ... we did get concerned," Kuppinger said. "We honestly thought she would pop up."

Juan Ortiz, student, according to Dr. William Knocke of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Jarrett Lane, student, according to Dr. William Knocke of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Erin Peterson, student, Centreville, Virginia

Reema Joseph Samaha, student

Did you know one of the victims? Please share your thoughts and memories.

Copyright 2007 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/04/17/vtech.shooting.victims/index.html



Report Spam   Logged

"Nothing gives one person so much advantage over another as to remain always cool and unruffled under all circumstances."

Thomas Jefferson
Kristina
Superhero Member
******
Posts: 4558



« Reply #12 on: April 17, 2007, 03:15:26 pm »

Source: Gunman angry at 'rich kids'
POSTED: 3:18 p.m. EDT, April 17, 2007

Story Highlights• NEW: Gunman wrote violent, disturbing scripts, former classmate says
• NEW: Reports say gunman's note blasted "deceitful charlatans" on campus
• Gunman was 23-year-old senior English major
• Cho Seung-hui listed Centreville, Virginia, as hometown



Cho Seung-hui, whom police identified as the gunman in Monday's shooting rampage, was a loner, a university official said.

Adjust font size:
CENTREVILLE, Virginia (CNN) -- The gunman in Monday's massacre at Virginia Tech was Cho Seung-hui, a 23-year-old senior English major from Centreville, Virginia, Virginia Tech Police Chief Wendell Flinchum said Tuesday.

A government official told CNN's Jeanne Meserve that a note has been found indicating Cho showed anger against "rich kids."

The official also said Cho had a history of mental illness but gave no details.

Cho left a note in his dorm in which he railed against "rich kids," "debauchery" and "deceitful charlatans" on the Virginia Tech campus, The Associated Press reported.

The Chicago Tribune, citing unidentified sources, reported that Cho may have been taking medication to combat depression and that his recent behavior was troubling, including setting a fire in a dorm and stalking women.

Draft scripts for two plays allegedly written by Cho for a writing class contain "really twisted, macabre violence," according to a student who was in class with him at Virginia Tech.

Ian McFarland, now an AOL employee, describes the writing as "very graphic" and "extremely disturbing."

The writings were provided to CNN by AOL. The employee also wrote a blog to accompany the two scripts. (Read the AOL employee's blog and the two plays)

McFarland said in the blog that when the class read Cho's work, "it was like something out of a nightmare."

"The plays had really twisted, macabre violence that used weapons I wouldn't have even thought of. Before Cho got to class that day, we students were talking to each other with serious worry about whether he could be a school shooter."

McFarland said Cho was extremely quiet, and efforts by other students to draw him out were rebuffed.

Cho took his own life as police closed in on him, according to Col. Steve Flaherty, Virginia State Police's superintendent. Thirty other bodies were found in Norris Hall along with Cho, officials said. (Watch what police revealed about ballistics and the locations of the dead )

Two people were killed earlier Monday in a college dormitory.

Cho, a South Korean national, was a legal resident of the United States, emigrating from his native country when he was 8, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

He lived in a Virginia Tech dormitory, but not in West Ambler Johnston Hall, where the first of Monday's shootings took place, university officials said.

"It certainly is reasonable for us to assume that Cho was the shooter in both places, but we don't have the evidence to take us there at this particular point in time," Flaherty said.

Police searched the residence at the home address Cho listed in Centreville, a suburb of Washington, on Monday night, CNN's Bob Franken reported.

On Tuesday, the mail carrier who has been delivering mail to Cho's parents since they moved to the subdivision described his father, Cho Sung-tae, 61, and his mother, Cho Hyang-ai, 51, as "super nice." He said he never met their son.

"I only met them [parents] when they were home, and I had packages to deliver to them ... but every time I did see them, they were super nice," Rod Wells said.

"It's just breaking my heart," he added. "No parent deserves that."

No one was home at the white, two-story townhouse residence Tuesday.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said that Cho was a legal permanent resident and had a green card.

The student was a loner, according to Larry Hincker, the associate vice president for university relations.

Authorities are having a hard time finding any information about him, Hincker said.

Virginia Tech senior Shane Moore said Tuesday he recalled having lunch with Cho three years ago.

Moore said his former roommate knew Cho because the two went to the same high school. Moore and his roommate approached Cho and asked if he would like to sit with them. Cho agreed but didn't say a word during lunch.

Finally, Moore's roommate cracked a joke and Cho laughed. Moore didn't take offense to Cho's silence.

"He just seem real, real shy," Moore said. "He was quiet, nothing too unusual."

Cho "was very quiet, always by himself," neighbor Abdul Shash told The Associated Press. He said the family was quiet, and Cho often played basketball, according to an AP report.

Fairfax County Schools in Virginia issued a statement Tuesday saying Cho graduated from Westfield High School in Chantilly, Virginia, in 2003. Two of Cho's victims also attended the school. The school's Web site describes it as an "Honors" high school.

Court records obtained by the AP show Cho got a speeding ticket from Virginia Tech police on April 7. He was cited for going 44 mph in a 25 mph zone, the AP reported, with a court date set for May 23.

Copyright 2007 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/04/17/cho.profile/index.html
Report Spam   Logged

"Nothing gives one person so much advantage over another as to remain always cool and unruffled under all circumstances."

Thomas Jefferson
Jill Elvgren
Superhero Member
******
Posts: 2272



« Reply #13 on: April 17, 2007, 08:45:30 pm »

It's so terrible about all these shootings.  I still don't know why they didn't lock down the campus between the shootings - there were two hours between them.  Very slow response.

As for not being able to notify everyone, didn't the campus have their own radio station? Couldn't they have called the heads of the buildings and told them there was a killer at large?
Report Spam   Logged

<< ...More Gratitude...Less Attitude...>>
<< ...Decide to be a victor instead of a victim...>>
Volitzer
Superhero Member
******
Posts: 11110



« Reply #14 on: April 18, 2007, 10:51:47 am »

Anyone got anything on this dude's writings from what I hear were pretty disturbing??
Report Spam   Logged
Pages: [1] 2   Go Up
  Print  
 
Jump to:  

Powered by EzPortal
Bookmark this site! | Upgrade This Forum
SMF For Free - Create your own Forum
Powered by SMF | SMF © 2016, Simple Machines
Privacy Policy