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BLACKSBURG, Virginia (CNN) -- At least 33 people, including a gunman, were killed Monday during shootings in a dorm and a classroom building at Virginia Tech, university officials said.
Two people were killed at a dormitory about 7:15 a.m., while another 30 people were killed about two hours later at Norris Hall -- the engineering science and mechanics building -- university officials said.
University police Chief Wendell Flinchum said police were still investigating whether the two incidents are related. Investigators are not ruling out a second shooter, Flinchum said. (Watch the police chief explain where bodies were found Video)
The death toll at Norris Hall makes the incident the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.
The gunman at Norris Hall, who police say took his own life, was not carrying identification and has not been identified.
Freshman Erin Sheehan told the university newspaper she was in German class at Norris when the gunman peeked in twice "like he was looking for someone" and then started shooting.
The students tried to blockade the door, but the shooter -- dressed in "a Boy Scout-type outfit" -- made it inside.
"I saw bullets hit people's body," Sheehan told The Collegiate Times. "There was blood everywhere. People in the class were passed out -- I don't know maybe from shock from the pain. But I was one of only four that made it out of that classroom." (Watch students react to shooting Video)
The remaining students, about 20 of them, were dead or injured, she told the newspaper.
"Norris Hall is a tragic and a sorrowful crime scene, and we are in the process of identifying victims," university President Charles Steger said.
Gov. Timothy Kaine, who was reportedly rushing home from a series of business-recruitment meetings in Tokyo, Japan, declared a state of emergency.
Asked why the campus, which has more than 26,000 students, was not shut down after the first shooting, Flinchum responded that police determined "it was an isolated event to that building and the decision was made not to cancel classes at that time." (Watch gunfire on the campus Video)
Steger added, "We had some reason to believe the shooter had left campus."
Spokespersons for hospitals in Roanoke, Christiansburg, Blacksburg and Salem told CNN they were treating a total of 29 injured people from the shootings.
Sharon Honaker with Carilion New River Medical Center in Christiansburg said one of the four gunshot victims being treated there was in critical condition.
Scott Hill, a spokesman for Montgomery Regional Hospital in Blacksburg, where 17 wounded students were taken, said he wasn't expecting any more victims.
The first reported shootings occurred at West Ambler Johnston Hall, a 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. (Campus map)
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. (Watch police, ambulances hustle to the scene Video)
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, apparently responding to the Norris Hall shooting.
"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.
Another student, Tiffany Otey, said she and her classmates thought the gunshots were construction noise until they heard screaming and police officers with bulletproof vests and machine guns entered her classroom.
"They were telling us to put our hands above our head and if we didn't cooperate and put our hands above our heads they would shoot," Otey said. "I guess they were afraid, like us -- like the shooter was going to be among one of us."
Student reports 'mayhem'
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 Video)
"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 classroom. They were huddled in the middle of the classroom, writing stories about the shootings and posting them online.
The university is updating 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.
Last August, the first day of classes was cut short by a manhunt for an escaped prisoner accused of killing a Blacksburg hospital security guard and a sheriff's deputy.
After the Monday shootings, students were instructed to stay indoors and away from windows, according to a university statement. (Watch a student describe living through a "college Columbine" Video)
The university has scheduled a convocation for 2 p.m. ET Tuesday. Classes also have been canceled Tuesday. In Washington, the House and Senate observed moments of silence for the victims and President Bush said the nation was "shocked and saddened" by news of the tragedy.
"Today, our nation grieves with those who have lost loved ones," he said. "We hold the victims in our hearts, we lift them up in our prayers and we ask a loving God to comfort those who are suffering today."
Before Monday, the deadliest mass shooting occurred in 1991, when George Hennard drove a pickup truck into a Killeen, Texas, cafeteria and then fatally shot 23 people, before shooting himself.
The deadliest school shootings came in 1966 and 1999. In the former, Charles Joseph Whitman, a 25-year-old ex-Marine, killed 13 people on the University of Texas campus. He was killed by police.
In 1999, 17-year-old Dylan Klebold and 18-year-old Eric Harris -- armed with guns and pipe bombs -- killed 12 students and a teacher before killing themselves at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado.
[link]
Where is the Love? by Black Eyed Peas (c)
What's wrong with the world, mama
People livin' like they ain't got no mamas
I think the whole world addicted to the drama
Only attracted to things that'll bring you trauma
Overseas, yeah, we try to stop terrorism
But we still got terrorists here livin'
In the USA, the big CIA
The Bloods and The Crips and the KKK
But if you only have love for your own race
Then you only leave space to discriminate
And to discriminate only generates hate
And when you hate then you're bound to get irate, yeah
Madness is what you demonstrate
And that's exactly how anger works and operates
Man, you gotta have love just to set it straight
Take control of your mind and meditate
Let your soul gravitate to the love, y'all, y'all
People killin', people dyin'
Children hurt and you hear them cryin'
Can you practice what you preach
And would you turn the other cheek
Father, Father, Father help us
Send some guidance from above
'Cause people got me, got me questionin'
Where is the love (Love)
Where is the love (The love)
Where is the love (The love)
Where is the love
The love, the love
It just ain't the same, always unchanged
New days are strange, is the world insane
If love and peace is so strong
Why are there pieces of love that don't belong
Nations droppin' bombs
Chemical gasses fillin' lungs of little ones
With ongoin' sufferin' as the youth die young
So ask yourself is the lovin' really gone
So I could ask myself really what is goin' wrong
In this world that we livin' in people keep on givin'
in
Makin' wrong decisions, only visions of them dividends
Not respectin' each other, deny thy brother
A war is goin' on but the reason's undercover
The truth is kept secret, it's swept under the rug
If you never know truth then you never know love
Where's the love, y'all, come on (I don't know)
Where's the truth, y'all, come on (I don't know)
Where's the love, y'all
I feel the weight of the world on my shoulder
As I'm gettin' older, y'all, people gets colder
Most of us only care about money makin'
Selfishness got us followin' our wrong direction
Wrong information always shown by the media
Negative images is the main criteria
Infecting the young minds faster than bacteria
Kids wanna act like what they see in the cinema
Yo', whatever happened to the values of humanity
Whatever happened to the fairness in equality
Instead of spreading love we're spreading animosity
Lack of understanding, leading lives away from unity
That's the reason why sometimes I'm feelin' under
That's the reason why sometimes I'm feelin' down
There's no wonder why sometimes I'm feelin' under
Gotta keep my faith alive till love is found
Now ask yourself
----------------------------------------
Artist's Notes: I hate that the media is drooling over this story because nothing this big has happened before. Sometimes I wonder what the media's roll in these shootings are.
I hate people who think the have the right to take someone's life.
I hate that this is happening more and more.
I am willing to work for peace. Are you?
----------------------------------------
TV stock from: ~k4-pacific Thanks.
Two people were killed at a dormitory about 7:15 a.m., while another 30 people were killed about two hours later at Norris Hall -- the engineering science and mechanics building -- university officials said.
University police Chief Wendell Flinchum said police were still investigating whether the two incidents are related. Investigators are not ruling out a second shooter, Flinchum said. (Watch the police chief explain where bodies were found Video)
The death toll at Norris Hall makes the incident the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.
The gunman at Norris Hall, who police say took his own life, was not carrying identification and has not been identified.
Freshman Erin Sheehan told the university newspaper she was in German class at Norris when the gunman peeked in twice "like he was looking for someone" and then started shooting.
The students tried to blockade the door, but the shooter -- dressed in "a Boy Scout-type outfit" -- made it inside.
"I saw bullets hit people's body," Sheehan told The Collegiate Times. "There was blood everywhere. People in the class were passed out -- I don't know maybe from shock from the pain. But I was one of only four that made it out of that classroom." (Watch students react to shooting Video)
The remaining students, about 20 of them, were dead or injured, she told the newspaper.
"Norris Hall is a tragic and a sorrowful crime scene, and we are in the process of identifying victims," university President Charles Steger said.
Gov. Timothy Kaine, who was reportedly rushing home from a series of business-recruitment meetings in Tokyo, Japan, declared a state of emergency.
Asked why the campus, which has more than 26,000 students, was not shut down after the first shooting, Flinchum responded that police determined "it was an isolated event to that building and the decision was made not to cancel classes at that time." (Watch gunfire on the campus Video)
Steger added, "We had some reason to believe the shooter had left campus."
Spokespersons for hospitals in Roanoke, Christiansburg, Blacksburg and Salem told CNN they were treating a total of 29 injured people from the shootings.
Sharon Honaker with Carilion New River Medical Center in Christiansburg said one of the four gunshot victims being treated there was in critical condition.
Scott Hill, a spokesman for Montgomery Regional Hospital in Blacksburg, where 17 wounded students were taken, said he wasn't expecting any more victims.
The first reported shootings occurred at West Ambler Johnston Hall, a 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. (Campus map)
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. (Watch police, ambulances hustle to the scene Video)
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, apparently responding to the Norris Hall shooting.
"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.
Another student, Tiffany Otey, said she and her classmates thought the gunshots were construction noise until they heard screaming and police officers with bulletproof vests and machine guns entered her classroom.
"They were telling us to put our hands above our head and if we didn't cooperate and put our hands above our heads they would shoot," Otey said. "I guess they were afraid, like us -- like the shooter was going to be among one of us."
Student reports 'mayhem'
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 Video)
"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 classroom. They were huddled in the middle of the classroom, writing stories about the shootings and posting them online.
The university is updating 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.
Last August, the first day of classes was cut short by a manhunt for an escaped prisoner accused of killing a Blacksburg hospital security guard and a sheriff's deputy.
After the Monday shootings, students were instructed to stay indoors and away from windows, according to a university statement. (Watch a student describe living through a "college Columbine" Video)
The university has scheduled a convocation for 2 p.m. ET Tuesday. Classes also have been canceled Tuesday. In Washington, the House and Senate observed moments of silence for the victims and President Bush said the nation was "shocked and saddened" by news of the tragedy.
"Today, our nation grieves with those who have lost loved ones," he said. "We hold the victims in our hearts, we lift them up in our prayers and we ask a loving God to comfort those who are suffering today."
Before Monday, the deadliest mass shooting occurred in 1991, when George Hennard drove a pickup truck into a Killeen, Texas, cafeteria and then fatally shot 23 people, before shooting himself.
The deadliest school shootings came in 1966 and 1999. In the former, Charles Joseph Whitman, a 25-year-old ex-Marine, killed 13 people on the University of Texas campus. He was killed by police.
In 1999, 17-year-old Dylan Klebold and 18-year-old Eric Harris -- armed with guns and pipe bombs -- killed 12 students and a teacher before killing themselves at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado.
[link]
Where is the Love? by Black Eyed Peas (c)
What's wrong with the world, mama
People livin' like they ain't got no mamas
I think the whole world addicted to the drama
Only attracted to things that'll bring you trauma
Overseas, yeah, we try to stop terrorism
But we still got terrorists here livin'
In the USA, the big CIA
The Bloods and The Crips and the KKK
But if you only have love for your own race
Then you only leave space to discriminate
And to discriminate only generates hate
And when you hate then you're bound to get irate, yeah
Madness is what you demonstrate
And that's exactly how anger works and operates
Man, you gotta have love just to set it straight
Take control of your mind and meditate
Let your soul gravitate to the love, y'all, y'all
People killin', people dyin'
Children hurt and you hear them cryin'
Can you practice what you preach
And would you turn the other cheek
Father, Father, Father help us
Send some guidance from above
'Cause people got me, got me questionin'
Where is the love (Love)
Where is the love (The love)
Where is the love (The love)
Where is the love
The love, the love
It just ain't the same, always unchanged
New days are strange, is the world insane
If love and peace is so strong
Why are there pieces of love that don't belong
Nations droppin' bombs
Chemical gasses fillin' lungs of little ones
With ongoin' sufferin' as the youth die young
So ask yourself is the lovin' really gone
So I could ask myself really what is goin' wrong
In this world that we livin' in people keep on givin'
in
Makin' wrong decisions, only visions of them dividends
Not respectin' each other, deny thy brother
A war is goin' on but the reason's undercover
The truth is kept secret, it's swept under the rug
If you never know truth then you never know love
Where's the love, y'all, come on (I don't know)
Where's the truth, y'all, come on (I don't know)
Where's the love, y'all
I feel the weight of the world on my shoulder
As I'm gettin' older, y'all, people gets colder
Most of us only care about money makin'
Selfishness got us followin' our wrong direction
Wrong information always shown by the media
Negative images is the main criteria
Infecting the young minds faster than bacteria
Kids wanna act like what they see in the cinema
Yo', whatever happened to the values of humanity
Whatever happened to the fairness in equality
Instead of spreading love we're spreading animosity
Lack of understanding, leading lives away from unity
That's the reason why sometimes I'm feelin' under
That's the reason why sometimes I'm feelin' down
There's no wonder why sometimes I'm feelin' under
Gotta keep my faith alive till love is found
Now ask yourself
----------------------------------------
Artist's Notes: I hate that the media is drooling over this story because nothing this big has happened before. Sometimes I wonder what the media's roll in these shootings are.
I hate people who think the have the right to take someone's life.
I hate that this is happening more and more.
I am willing to work for peace. Are you?
----------------------------------------
TV stock from: ~k4-pacific Thanks.
Image size
695x920px 1.31 MB
© 2007 - 2024 buffydoesbroadcast
Comments64
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The media should never brainwash, so cold-hearted....
Anyway, this is an amazing piece, i love it! The perfect depiction of throwing away the news for peace, as media is only making things worse just for the money, green papers convey intrigue, not neccessary positivity, disgraceful....
This is why i don’t watch the news and rather view beautiful pictures and videos of mother nature. News media is garbage anyway. Cat videos, yes!
Anyway, this is an amazing piece, i love it! The perfect depiction of throwing away the news for peace, as media is only making things worse just for the money, green papers convey intrigue, not neccessary positivity, disgraceful....
This is why i don’t watch the news and rather view beautiful pictures and videos of mother nature. News media is garbage anyway. Cat videos, yes!