VATech Shootings [Merged Threads]

[J.C.&ALI'SMOM]

May I ask that you all send pixie dust and prayers for all involved in this tragedy. I have several friends who have children that attend Va Tech and I am worried. Two of my co-workers at this school have a child and a stepchild there right now. I am so upset.

[pshokie]

My thoughts and prayers are with all affected by this tragedy.

While those I know have been accounted for, I still ache for those who are lost.


This Hokie is shedding a tear for all.

[PirateLover]

Insane... my heart aches for those victims and their families. For those who don't know the story, here it is...

Gunman Kills 21 at Virginia Tech
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Apr 16, 12:31 PM (ET)

By SUE LINDSEY

(AP) Shootings at a dorm and classroom on the Virginia Tech campus Monday, April 16, 2007, left at least...
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BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) - A gunman opened fire in a dorm and classroom at Virginia Tech on Monday, killing 21 people and wounding another 21 before he was killed, police said.

On the Web site, Tech reported the shootings at opposite sides of the 2,600-acre campus at West Ambler Johnston, a co-ed residence hall that houses 895 people, and said there were "multiple victims" at Norris Hall, an engineering building.

All entrances to the campus were closed and classes canceled through Tuesday.

"There's just a lot of commotion. It's hard to tell exactly what's going on," said student 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.

Madison Van Duyne, a student who was interviewed by telephone on CNN, said, "We are all in lockdown. Most of the students are sitting on the floors away from the windows just trying to be as safe as possible."

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.

[DVC2004]

This is truly horrible. Pixie dust and prayers for those invloved.

[Jimenyfan]

As soon as I saw this I stopped and immediately said a prayer. Prayers going out to everyone involved in this horrible event.

[pshokie]

Current reports list it as 22 dead, 28 wounded.

Hopefully, this tragedy does not get any worse.

BTW, Thank you Intercotees, I am here as a refuge today. (Fighting tears). I greatly need the distraction today. I keep finding my way back to all of the news about my beloved Alma Mater, but it is nice to have a safe haven, planning and talking Disney, atleast for a little while.

[pogo]

I feel so bad for all involved. Prayers and to all. This is indeed a very sad day.

[Jeri Lynn]

What a very sad incident. My prayers go out to everyone there at VA Tech, and the families of all involved.

[RedSoxFan]

This is terrible. DS is a freshman at U of Kentucky but has lots of friends who attend VA Tech as we lived in VA for the past 6 years. He is devastated by this news and is trying to find out if his friends are OK. He already lost a classmate last year right before graduation due to a senseless car accident (speeding and not wearing a seatbelt). I'm not too sure he could deal with another loss at such a young age.

[Jasper]

Latest report on the radio now has the toll at 29 dead and at least as many injured!!

As a parent I can't begin to imagine how horrible it would be to have a student at that school and then hearing this kind of news on the media. The radio also said they were asking for people not to call the campus because phone lines are overwhelmed with calls. Not being able to get through to your child would just make the situation even more horrible for the parents.

My prayers are with everyone involved in this tragedy.

[PirateLover]

They are at 32 dead now apparently and expecting the number to rise. Shooter is among the dead. Sad sad sad sad. I cannot imagine how anything could go back to normal at the school anytime soon. So many innocent lives, gone in a senseless act. Tons of prayers and pixie dust *~*~*
... i don't even want to put the pixie icon because somehow a smiling face with a party hat doesn't seen appropriate right now...

[disneydrmr]

Reports I've read now say 32 dead and 21 wounded... tragic. My thoughts and prayers go out to the Virginia Tech community.

[Nascfan]

What a senseless, terrible tragedy. My heart goes out to all the victims, their families, and friends. Prayers and pixie dust for all.

[ChipnDaleGal]

My brain can't (or won't) understand something like this, and my heart just bleeds for all the families that lost someone they loved today.

[Jasper]

I just heard the latest number as being 32 also and one reporter said that she was told by a school official that the toll could be nearly double that before it is over because many of the injured are in very critical condition. The news reporter also said that they have pulled emergency workers in from nearly a 100 mile radius and they could still use more!!

Probably the freakiest thing they had on the radio was a recording that someone made of the shooting with their cell phone camera. Since I heard this on the radio I obviously didn't see the audio, but it was just so weird to hear the guns firing and knowing that I was hearing the sound of innocent young people dieing!!

The same person who took the cell phone video also said that the gunman opened fire in an engineering classroom and before it was over everyone in that room was dead!!

[pshokie]

Probably the freakiest thing they had on the radio was a recording that someone made of the shooting with their cell phone camera. Since I heard this on the radio I obviously didn't see the audio, but it was just so weird to hear the guns firing and knowing that I was hearing the sound of innocent young people dieing!!

Having seen the cell video several times, it is extremely surreal. I am on a constant live feed of WSLS TV (Local VT feed from Raonoke VA), and the photage is in thier video loop now. It basically shows what amounts to the "end" of the shooting with police converging on a single spot after rapid gunfire.

You can audibly count at least 13 gun shots.

Absolutely terrible.

For those of you who wish, and Mods, please on this instance allow the link, the one of the major community message boards for Virginia Tech is located at Techsideline.com (via what was formerly the "Lounge" message board). It is a sports related sight, but it also the most popular site amongst Virginia Tech Hokies.

[Sorry, link removed since we cannot control the content and cannot guarantee to our members that it is family-friendly.]

[Tick-Tock]

My stepsister is a grad student at VA Tech, and luckily I've been able to find out that she's safe in her apartment. Here in Colorado, we're all too aware of how horrible school shootings are for the entire community, not just the students and their families. My thoughts are with all those affected.

[MNNHFLTX]

I am so very sorry to hear about everything going on at the VaTech campus today. It is heartwrenching to see and hear a college campus made into the scene of a such a tragedy. My prayers are with the victims and those left behind to carry on.

[offwego]

What a tragic story..my prayers are with them today and in the days to follow.

[Tinkermom]

My husband is a VA Tech alumni. This is so completely senseless. My heart and my prayers go out for all of the victims and their families as well as the students and faculty of VA Tech. It will be a long road to recovery.