32 Killed in Virginia Tech Shootings, At Least 24 Injured
By Robert E. Pierre and Susan Kinzie
Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, April 16, 2007; 2:04 PM
Thirty-two people have reportedly been killed and more than two dozen others injured during a shooting rampage this morning at Virginia Tech, making it the deadliest killing spree in U.S. history, according to law enforcement sources.
The unidentified shooter was among the dead, according to officials, who also said that several were injured in the shootings, at West Ambler Johnston, a dormitory, and Norris Hall, which houses the College of Engineering. Authorities said the first shooting was reported shortly after 7 a.m.
"We have a ballpark figure on fatalities," Virginia Tech Police Chief Wendell Flinchum, said at a news conference broadcast earlier today by CNN. "It's at least 20 fatalities."
Flinchum said he did not know whether the shooter was a student. Some of those killed were students in a classroom at Norris Hall, he said.
Virginia Tech president Charles Steger said police first received a call about 7:15 a.m. about a shooting at West Ambler Johnston, where police found multiple shooting victims. He said that about two hours later, university police received reports of shooting in Norris Hall. "The shooter in Norris Hall is deceased," Steger said.
The campus, about four hours southwest of Washington, was shutdown.
"Today the university was struck with a tragedy that we consider of monumental proportions," Steger said at the news conference. "The university is shocked and indeed horrified that this would befall us."
CNN showed a video taken by a student in which dozens of shots could be heard.
Students and staff were notified by e-mail and automated voicemails that a gunman was on the loose and that everyone should stay in their buildings and "away from windows."
All across campus, people were trying to figure out what was happening, with cell phones sometimes working and sometimes not, the university Web site sometimes working and sometimes not, and the sound of sirens everywhere. Many watched from inside dorm rooms or offices, trading rumors and bad news.
Wayne Neu, a professor of ocean engineering, was in his office across from Norris Hall when he heard shots, including what sounded like a police shotgun. "I saw one faculty member who was shot in the arm apparently being led away," he said. "I've been here 25 years I've never seen something like this happen."
Matteo del Ninno, a junior from Alexandria, had overslept and was rushing to his 10:10 a.m. class in Norris 200, when his girlfriend text-messaged him to see if he was OK. He hadn't heard anything about shootings but noticed the ambulances around; after her warning he went back to his house next to campus and checked all his messages. He's worried about his friends, engineering students who always meet before class in the hall.
Staff and students contacted by telephone said the mornings events were unnerving.
David Harris, who works at the Center for Applied Behavioral Systems, said he arrived at 9:15 a.m. and received the first e-mail about 15 minutes later. It said there had been a shooting on campus, sending some into a frenzy.
"It was a little nerve-wracking," he said. "There were rumors that the gunman had jumped out the window and broke his neck. Then we got the second e-mail saying that a gunman was on the loose and telling us to stay away from the windows."
Harris said he has been told that the university is planning to evacuate everyone from the campus later today, though he was not certain.
The co-ed West Ambler Johnston dorm is one of the largest residence halls on campus, housing 895 residents.
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." She said university officials were "doing a wonderful job of e-mailing us and just trying to keep us updated."
Last August the campus was shut down because of concerns that a gunman was on campus. The man, an escaped inmate accused of killing a sheriff's deputy and a security guard, was later captured at Virginia Tech.
One woman who answered the phone in the school's Entomology Department said that about 9:45, they were notified that everyone was to remain in their offices and not venture out but were not given any other details. "There's cop cars everywhere," said the woman.
Another worker at the university, who also did not wish to be identified, said that there has been a dearth of information, except what could be gleaned from news reports.
"We're all just staying put," said the second woman.
Staff writer Howard Schneider contributed to this report.
