33 Dead in Virginia Tech Shootings, At Least 24 Injured
By Robert E. Pierre, Sari Horwitz and Jackie Spinner
Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, April 16, 2007; 4:54 PM
Thirty-three people were killed and at least 30 injured during a shooting rampage this morning at Virginia Polytechnic and State University, making it the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.
The unidentified shooter was among the dead. Law enforcement authorities, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the shooter used two 9mm pistols. They also said that the shooter was not carrying identification and his head wounds were so severe that authorities could not immediately identify him.
The shootings, which included both students and staff members, took place at West Ambler Johnston, a dormitory, and Norris Hall, which houses the College of Engineering.
Charles Steger, president of the university, said at a news conference late today that 31 people, including the gunman were killed at Norris Hall and two others died at the dorm. He said there was no connection between the two shootings, however, law enforcement sources told The Washington Post that a single shooter was responsible for both incidents. He said a list of the dead was not likely to be released until tomorrow.
Authorities said the first shooting was reported shortly after 7 a.m. at the dorm and the second about two hours later at Norris Hall.
"Today the university was struck with a tragedy that we consider of monumental proportions," Virginia Tech president Charles Steger said at an earlier news conference. "The university is shocked and indeed horrified that this would befall us."
President Bush, in an afternoon news conference, said the shooting affected the entire country.
"Schools should be a place of safety and sanctity of learning," he said. "Today our nation grieves for those who have lost loved ones."
University officials, who have been inundated with calls from worried parents, urged students on the school website to contact their parents as soon as possible.
The shooting at Virginia Tech comes just four days before the anniversary of the Columbine High School slaying, in which 12 students and a teacher were gunned down by two students who spent months plotting the attack. The shooters killed themselves.
The worst mass shooting in U.S. history occurred Oct. 16, 1991, at Luby's Cafeteria in Killeen, Texas. George Hennard rammed his truck into the cafeteria and opened fire on the lunchtime crowd, killing 22 people before turning his gun on himself and taking his own life.
Area hospitals treating the wounded have reported at least 10 people are in critical condition and several are in surgery.
Earlier in the day, university officials confirmed a lower number of fatalities.
Virginia Tech Police Chief Wendell Flinchum, speaking at a news conference today, 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.
On the first day of the school year last August, Virginia Tech 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 near the school grounds.
The campus, about four hours southwest of Washington, was shut down for the day. Families trying to find students are advised to meet them at the Inn at Virginia Tech.
Counseling has been set up in the Merriman Center for employees and students. A convocation has been scheduled for noon tomorrow so the campus could begin healing.
Today's shootings occurred on opposite sides of the 2,600-acre campus, leaving students and workers under siege. The university, founded in 1872, has more than 25,000 fulltime students.
CNN showed a video taken by a student using a camera phone in which dozens of shots could be heard. It was unclear whether the gunman or police fired the shots.
At least four area hospitals are treating the wounded.
At the White House, Dana Perino's, deputy press secretary, said: "The president was made aware of the Virginia Tech shootings. He was horrified. And his immediate reaction was one of deep concern for the families of the victims, the victims themselves, the students, the professors and all the people of Virginia who have dealt with this shocking incident. And his thoughts and prayers are with them."
Carol Chappell, spokeswoman for Lewis-Gale Medical Center in Salem and Montgomery Regional in Blacksburg, said five of the injured were being treated at Lewis-Gale, which is a 521-bed facility. She said some of the injured at Lewis-Gale were referred from Montgomery Medical. Of the five patients admitted, four were students and one was a faculty member, she said. Two of the most critical were in surgery at 3 p.m.
She said 18 students are being treated at Montgomery Regional. Four of the most critical were in surgery in the middle of the afternoon. All were being treated for gunshot wounds and other unspecified injuries.
"It's so overwhelming," she said.
Eric Earnhart, spokesman for the Carilion New River Hospital near Radford and the Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital said four people were being treated at New River, which is about 20 minutes from Blacksburg. Three are in stable condition and one is in critical condition, he said.
Roanoke Memorial, 45 minutes from Blacksburg and part of Carilion's 10-hospital system in western Virginia, is treating 3 of the injured, all in critical condition, Earnhart said. All seven of the injured at the two hospitals were inflicted with gunshot wounds.
Earnhart confirmed that the four hospitals treating patients involved in the shooting were Memorial Regional, New River, Roanoke Memorial, a Level 1 Trauma Center, and Lewis-Gale.
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. The co-ed West Ambler Johnston dorm is one of the largest residence halls on campus, housing 895 residents.
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 morning's events were unnerving.
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 Bill Brubaker, Susan Kinzie and Howard Schneider contributed to this report.
